the continuation or preservation of a situation

The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions:
Abraham Lincoln
Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois
January 27, 1838
As a subject for the remarks of the evening, the perpetuation of our political institutions, is selected.

In the great journal of things happening under the sun, we, the American People, find our account running, under date of the nineteenth century of the Christian era.--We find ourselves in the peaceful possession, of the fairest portion of the earth, as regards extent of territory, fertility of soil, and salubrity of climate.

We find ourselves under the government of a system of political institutions, conducing more essentially to the ends of civil and religious liberty, than any of which the history of former times tells us. We, when mounting the stage of existence, found ourselves the legal inheritors of these fundamental blessings. 

We toiled not in the acquirement or establishment of them--they are a legacy bequeathed us, by a once hardy, brave, and patriotic, but now lamented and departed race of ancestors. Their's was the task (and nobly they performed it) to possess themselves, and through themselves, us, of this goodly land; and to uprear upon its hills and its valleys, a political edifice of liberty and equal rights; 'tis ours only, to transmit these, the former, unprofaned by the foot of an invader; the latter, undecayed by the lapse of time and untorn by usurpation, to the latest generation that fate shall permit the world to know. This task of gratitude to our fathers, justice to ourselves, duty to posterity, and love for our species in general, all imperatively require us faithfully to perform.

How then shall we perform it?--At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it?-- Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never!--All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.

At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.
I hope I am over wary; but if I am not, there is, even now, something of ill-omen, amongst us. 

I mean the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country; the growing disposition to substitute the wild and furious passions, in lieu of the sober judgment of Courts; and the worse than savage mobs, for the executive ministers of justice. This disposition is awfully fearful in any community; and that it now exists in ours, though grating to our feelings to admit, it would be a violation of truth, and an insult to our intelligence, to deny. Accounts of outrages committed by mobs, form the every-day news of the times. 

They have pervaded the country, from New England to Louisiana;--they are neither peculiar to the eternal snows of the former, nor the burning suns of the latter;--they are not the creature of climate-- neither are they confined to the slave-holding, or the non-slave- holding States. Alike, they spring up among the pleasure hunting masters of Southern slaves, and the order loving citizens of the land of steady habits.--Whatever, then, their cause may be, it is common to the whole country.

It would be tedious, as well as useless, to recount the horrors of all of them. Those happening in the State of Mississippi, and at St. Louis, are, perhaps, the most dangerous in example and revolting to humanity. 

In the Mississippi case, they first commenced by hanging the regular gamblers; a set of men, certainly not following for a livelihood, a very useful, or very honest occupation; but one which, so far from being forbidden by the laws, was actually licensed by an act of the Legislature, passed but a single year before. Next, negroes, suspected of conspiring to raise an insurrection, were caught up and hanged in all parts of the State: then, white men, supposed to be leagued with the negroes; and finally, strangers, from neighboring States, going thither on business, were, in many instances subjected to the same fate. 

Thus went on this process of hanging, from gamblers to negroes, from negroes to white citizens, and from these to strangers; till, dead men were seen literally dangling from the boughs of trees upon every road side; and in numbers almost sufficient, to rival the native Spanish moss of the country, as a drapery of the forest.

Turn, then, to that horror-striking scene at St. Louis. A single victim was only sacrificed there. His story is very short; and is, perhaps, the most highly tragic, if anything of its length, that has ever been witnessed in real life. A mulatto man, by the name of McIntosh, was seized in the street, dragged to the suburbs of the city, chained to a tree, and actually burned to death; and all within a single hour from the time he had been a freeman, attending to his own business, and at peace with the world.
Such are the effects of mob law; and such as the scenes, becoming more and more frequent in this land so lately famed for love of law and order; and the stories of which, have even now grown too familiar, to attract any thing more, than an idle remark.

But you are, perhaps, ready to ask, "What has this to do with the perpetuation of our political institutions?" I answer, it has much to do with it. Its direct consequences are, comparatively speaking, but a small evil; and much of its danger consists, in the proneness of our minds, to regard its direct, as its only consequences. Abstractly considered, the hanging of the gamblers at Vicksburg, was of but little consequence. 

They constitute a portion of population, that is worse than useless in any community; and their death, if no pernicious example be set by it, is never matter of reasonable regret with any one. If they were annually swept, from the stage of existence, by the plague or small pox, honest men would, perhaps, be much profited, by the operation.--Similar too, is the correct reasoning, in regard to the burning of the negro at St. Louis. He had forfeited his life, by the perpetration of an outrageous murder, upon one of the most worthy and respectable citizens of the city; and had not he died as he did, he must have died by the sentence of the law, in a very short time afterwards. As to him alone, it was as well the way it was, as it could otherwise have been.--But the example in either case, was fearful.

When men take it in their heads to day, to hang gamblers, or burn murderers, they should recollect, that, in the confusion usually attending such transactions, they will be as likely to hang or burn some one who is neither a gambler nor a murderer as one who is; and that, acting upon the example they set, the mob of to-morrow, may, and probably will, hang or burn some of them by the very same mistake. And not only so; the innocent, those who have ever set their faces against violations of law in every shape, alike with the guilty, fall victims to the ravages of mob law; and thus it goes on, step by step, till all the walls erected for the defense of the persons and property of individuals, are trodden down, and disregarded. 

But all this even, is not the full extent of the evil.--By such examples, by instances of the perpetrators of such acts going unpunished, the lawless in spirit, are encouraged to become lawless in practice; and having been used to no restraint, but dread of punishment, they thus become, absolutely unrestrained.--Having ever regarded Government as their deadliest bane, they make a jubilee of the suspension of its operations; and pray for nothing so much, as its total annihilation. 

While, on the other hand, good men, men who love tranquility, who desire to abide by the laws, and enjoy their benefits, who would gladly spill their blood in the defense of their country; seeing their property destroyed; their families insulted, and their lives endangered; their persons injured; and seeing nothing in prospect that forebodes a change for the better; become tired of, and disgusted with, a Government that offers them no protection; and are not much averse to a change in which they imagine they have nothing to lose. 

Thus, then, by the operation of this mobocractic spirit, which all must admit, is now abroad in the land, the strongest bulwark of any Government, and particularly of those constituted like ours, may effectually be broken down and destroyed--I mean the attachment of the People. Whenever this effect shall be produced among us; whenever the vicious portion of population shall be permitted to gather in bands of hundreds and thousands, and burn churches, ravage and rob provision-stores, throw printing presses into rivers, shoot editors, and hang and burn obnoxious persons at pleasure, and with impunity; depend on it, this Government cannot last. By such things, the feelings of the best citizens will become more or less alienated from it; and thus it will be left without friends, or with too few, and those few too weak, to make their friendship effectual. At such a time and under such circumstances, men of sufficient talent and ambition will not be wanting to seize the opportunity, strike the blow, and overturn that fair fabric, which for the last half century, has been the fondest hope, of the lovers of freedom, throughout the world.

I know the American People are much attached to their Government;--I know they would suffer much for its sake;--I know they would endure evils long and patiently, before they would ever think of exchanging it for another. Yet, notwithstanding all this, if the laws be continually despised and disregarded, if their rights to be secure in their persons and property, are held by no better tenure than the caprice of a mob, the alienation of their affections from the Government is the natural consequence; and to that, sooner or later, it must come.

Here then, is one point at which danger may be expected.

The question recurs, "how shall we fortify against it?" The answer is simple. Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor;--let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap--let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;--let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay [happy], of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.
When I so pressingly urge a strict observance of all the laws, let me not be understood as saying there are no bad laws, nor that grievances may not arise, for the redress of which, no legal provisions have been made.--I mean to say no such thing. But I do mean to say, that, although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in force, for the sake of example, they should be religiously observed. So also in unprovided cases. If such arise, let proper legal provisions be made for them with the least possible delay; but, till then, let them, if not too intolerable, be borne with.

There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law. In any case that arises, as for instance, the promulgation of abolitionism, one of two positions is necessarily true; that is, the thing is right within itself, and therefore deserves the protection of all law and all good citizens; or, it is wrong, and therefore proper to be prohibited by legal enactments; and in neither case, is the interposition of mob law, either necessary, justifiable, or excusable.

But, it may be asked, why suppose danger to our political institutions? Have we not preserved them for more than fifty years? And why may we not for fifty times as long?

We hope there is no sufficient reason. We hope all dangers may be overcome; but to conclude that no danger may ever arise, would itself be extremely dangerous. 

There are now, and will hereafter be, many causes, dangerous in their tendency, which have not existed heretofore; and which are not too insignificant to merit attention. That our government should have been maintained in its original form from its establishment until now, is not much to be wondered at. It had many props to support it through that period, which now are decayed, and crumbled away. Through that period, it was felt by all, to be an undecided experiment; now, it is understood to be a successful one.--Then, all that sought celebrity and fame, and distinction, expected to find them in the success of that experiment. Their all was staked upon it:-- their destiny was inseparably linked with it. Their ambition aspired to display before an admiring world, a practical demonstration of the truth of a proposition, which had hitherto been considered, at best no better, than problematical; namely, the capability of a people to govern themselves. If they succeeded, they were to be immortalized; their names were to be transferred to counties and cities, and rivers and mountains; and to be revered and sung, and toasted through all time. 

If they failed, they were to be called knaves and fools, and fanatics for a fleeting hour; then to sink and be forgotten. They succeeded. The experiment is successful; and thousands have won their deathless names in making it so. But the game is caught; and I believe it is true, that with the catching, end the pleasures of the chase. This field of glory is harvested, and the crop is already appropriated. 

But new reapers will arise, and they, too, will seek a field. It is to deny, what the history of the world tells us is true, to suppose that men of ambition and talents will not continue to spring up amongst us. And, when they do, they will as naturally seek the gratification of their ruling passion, as others have so done before them. The question then, is, can that gratification be found in supporting and maintaining an edifice that has been erected by others? Most certainly it cannot. Many great and good men sufficiently qualified for any task they should undertake, may ever be found, whose ambition would inspire to nothing beyond a seat in Congress, a gubernatorial or a presidential chair; but such belong not to the family of the lion, or the tribe of the eagle. What! think you these places would satisfy an Alexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon?--Never! 

Towering genius distains a beaten path.

It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.--It sees no distinction in adding story to story, upon the monuments of fame, erected to the memory of others. It denies that it is glory enough to serve under any chief. It scorns to tread in the footsteps of any predecessor, however illustrious. It thirsts and burns for distinction; and, if possible, it will have it, whether at the expense of emancipating slaves, or enslaving freemen. Is it unreasonable then to expect, that some man possessed of the loftiest genius, coupled with ambition sufficient to push it to its utmost stretch, will at some time, spring up among us? And when such a one does, it will require the people to be united with each other, attached to the government and laws, and generally intelligent, to successfully frustrate his designs.
Distinction will be his paramount object, and although he would as willingly, perhaps more so, acquire it by doing good as harm; yet, that opportunity being past, and nothing left to be done in the way of building up, he would set boldly to the task of pulling down.

Here, then, is a probable case, highly dangerous, and such a one as could not have well existed heretofore.

Another reason which once was; but which, to the same extent, is now no more, has done much in maintaining our institutions thus far. I mean the powerful influence which the interesting scenes of the revolution had upon the passions of the people as distinguished from their judgment. By this influence, the jealousy, envy, and avarice, incident to our nature, and so common to a state of peace, prosperity, and conscious strength, were, for the time, in a great measure smothered and rendered inactive; while the deep-rooted principles of hate, and the powerful motive of revenge, instead of being turned against each other, were directed exclusively against the British nation. And thus, from the force of circumstances, the basest principles of our nature, were either made to lie dormant, or to become the active agents in the advancement of the noblest cause--that of establishing and maintaining civil and religious liberty.

But this state of feeling must fade, is fading, has faded, with the circumstances that produced it.
I do not mean to say, that the scenes of the revolution are now or ever will be entirely forgotten; but that like every thing else, they must fade upon the memory of the world, and grow more and more dim by the lapse of time. In history, we hope, they will be read of, and recounted, so long as the bible shall be read;-- but even granting that they will, their influence cannot be what it heretofore has been. Even then, they cannot be so universally known, nor so vividly felt, as they were by the generation just gone to rest. At the close of that struggle, nearly every adult male had been a participator in some of its scenes. The consequence was, that of those scenes, in the form of a husband, a father, a son or brother, a living history was to be found in every family-- a history bearing the indubitable testimonies of its own authenticity, in the limbs mangled, in the scars of wounds received, in the midst of the very scenes related--a history, too, that could be read and understood alike by all, the wise and the ignorant, the learned and the unlearned.--But those histories are gone. They can be read no more forever. They were a fortress of strength; but, what invading foeman could never do, the silent artillery of time has done; the leveling of its walls. They are gone.--They were a forest of giant oaks; but the all-resistless hurricane has swept over them, and left only, here and there, a lonely trunk, despoiled of its verdure, shorn of its foliage; unshading and unshaded, to murmur in a few gentle breezes, and to combat with its mutilated limbs, a few more ruder storms, then to sink, and be no more.

They were the pillars of the temple of liberty; and now, that they have crumbled away, that temple must fall, unless we, their descendants, supply their places with other pillars, hewn from the solid quarry of sober reason. Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defence.--Let those materials be moulded into general intelligence, sound morality, and in particular, a reverence for the constitution and laws: and, that we improved to the last; that we remained free to the last; that we revered his name to the last; that, during his long sleep, we permitted no hostile foot to pass over or desecrate his resting place; shall be that which to learn the last trump shall awaken our WASHINGTON.

Upon these let the proud fabric of freedom rest, as the rock of its basis; and as truly as has been said of the only greater institution, "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

In accordance with fact or reality

Truth.

I never thought that I would be in the position that I am in.

The position where I need to find my voice again. The position where I need to find unbiased truth again.

Which is why I am beginning this blog.

I had been on facebook since 2007, just recently deleting it and walking away. I am actually within my 30 day "if you change your mind" phase. I have read, however, that it doesn't ever really go away even though FB promises to delete permanently after 90 days. We shall see.

In the course of deleting, I wanted to make sure that I saved any posts that I found profound. What I ended up finding was that for the first few years there were a lot of "I don't feel good" posts but I realized that it was actually anxiety manifesting itself as I was going through a very difficult time during my facebook infancy. I did find some posts worth saving though.

Facebook was an escape. It was a way to pretend that I was a part of the real world without really having to socialize. It was and is an excuse not to talk to people, not to truly interact. It is the introverts dream. I thought it would be a great way to stay in touch with my long distance friends and to share my thoughts, my life, anything I wanted.

I am beginning to see that social media was probably the worse thing that could have happened to us as a people.

As the years went by I started posting political things, religious things, my personal opinion about events happening. There were occasional debates on certain topics but I didn't post those things all the time. I was pretty tame compared to some. Then big things started to happen around the world-gun debates, gay marriage/prop 8, Obama elected president, women's marches, my body my choice, to build a wall or not build a wall etc. That was just the beginning of a downward spiral and more and more we began to be polarized and voices began to fall silent just like mine.

I began to find that more and more I wasn't posting certain things because I didn't want to offend my friends. I started having my posts revolve around whether or not it would cause a stir or how would this person feel if I posted this. I even at one time promised one of my friends that I wouldn't post anything religious if he would accept my friend request. Needless to say, we are no longer friends. This was due to a debate he had no business commenting on but found he needed to because he decided I was too closed minded and needed to lecture me.

I eventually started posting religious things only on Sunday but politically I was still pretty silent. There were times I would just have to say something or I would burst but I was still in the mindset of 'don't offend'.

I wouldn't even like pages or follow people that had any political leanings because I didn't want people to know what I was watching or liking. I came to realize though, that those people that I didn't want to offend, had absolutely no problem offending me.

Then, SARS-CoV-2 hit and the world lost its collective mind. A switch was flipped and left on. In truth, it's a switch that's been flipping on and off over the last few decades but those were just warm ups to what we are experiencing now.

Wisdom, discernment, logic have gone out the window. People that I thought would be able to see through the half-truths fed to us all of sudden were falling in line like good little lemmings with their slogans of:

"I'm doing my part to keep you safe"
"We are in this together"
"I'm part of the problem so I'll be part of the solution"
"Trump bad"

Everyone putting the little, made just for this moment, black box on their social profiles as though that really meant something and chastising their friends who didn't.

Social media is toxic to the human condition.

I want to find that flipped switch and disable it. Maybe just maybe we have a chance to save ourselves.

I'm glad I deleted my Facebook. It didn't seem that anyone was hearing me anyway as the same 2 people consistently liked what I posted no matter what it was. Frankly, I realized how much I didn't care anymore. If I was worth anyone's time in real life, then those people would remain my friends outside of FB.

I am free and I hope that I can use this blog truly as a way to express not only my opinion about certain things but also a way to present plain facts. When we see or hear anything anymore it is already edited and interpreted for us.

Do your research! Don't react first and think later. If something doesn't make sense, 9 times out of 10, it's not true. One fact and six lies does not constitute truth.

Don't trade one blindness for another.

a person who controls or influences others in a clever or unscrupulous way

"Masters of manipulation rely on constant victimization. They probably have a “trauma wildcard,” or a difficult episode in their lives that they always use to justify the things they do wrong. “A difficult childhood,” “ungrateful children,” “bad luck,” and other formulas like that are their favorites."https://exploringyourmind.com

Gellert Grindelwald

If that name isn't familiar to you here's a name you may recall, Harry Potter.

Gellert Grindelwald was mentioned during the 7 book series as being a long time friend turned enemy of Albus Dumbledore. He was defeated in a duel between the two and sent to prison. It was discovered by Voldemort that he was once in possession of the Elder Wand. This wand was one of three objects considered to be what was called The Deathly Hallows. If one were to get all three, he would be the master of death.

Grindelwald was considered during his prime to be "among the most powerful and dangerous Dark Wizards of all time, second only to Lord Voldemort".

Dumbledore, as we found out, had a traumatic past and when he unexpectedly was forced to care for his brother and sister it left him resentful and angry. Naturally, when he met Gellert Grindelwald it was an escape from what he believed was a mundane life. 

Gellert was charming, charismatic and provided him with a distraction especially with the grand ideas of power and fame. He wanted to start a revolution. Of course it would be attractive to a young unwise Dumbledore.

I am unsure of Dumbledore's true role though. Uncommon kindness was attributed to him by many. He was naturally drawn to the outcast. He was one. Even in his early days at Hogwarts it was only after he proved himself a brilliant wizard that people began to truly see him and not his past. He may not have treated his family kindly but one can sympathize, I think, with why he was aloof when it came to them and why he continued to be. 

Needless to say, I don't believe that he would've gone through with the revolution the way Grindelwald wanted even if his sister hadn't accidentally been killed. It was that event, however, that woke him up early on to the truth of what he was allowing himself to become. By then, it was too late to seek forgiveness from Aberforth and so the two became estranged. It did not mean he did not love them.

I believe that Dumbledore's past and all that transpired helped mold the great and wise man we loved from the beginning of the series. After the death of his sister and undoubtedly burdened by all the things he could not fix, he dedicated himself to being the one that protected those who couldn't protect themselves. I suppose one could even say, he spent his life trying to fix his past mistakes even if along the way he made a few more. I wholeheartedly believe if he were presented with the ring of power, he would pass. Grindelwald would not. Note: It's my blog I can make worlds collide if I want.

I don't know if Gellert truly loved Albus. If one is to believe what later came out from JK Rowling, you would be told to believe they were lovers. I don't believe that. I think she was pandering. That aside, he may have cared for Albus but I don't know to what extent. Did he feel remorse for Albus' sister being killed or was he more upset that his plans were frustrated when Albus left?

I personally believe he was a manipulator and he had found himself someone hurt and lost and used him.

This is further proven through the movie The Crimes of Grindelwald. I watched with such a feeling of sadness as one by one people fell for the crap he was cooking. He was a master at his craft. He used people's feelings, their hurts, their dreams to get them to trust him. He told them half-truths. I was especially angry when he used Queenie's love and desire to marry Jacob to convince her to join his side. I hold out hope for Queenie though.

I was especially enthralled at the end when he showed them flashes of a war he said would be started by the muggles. It was just another manipulation. By saying the muggles started it, he convinced them they would need to strike first which was always the plan. It was his war he was showing them.

We know what becomes of him though. We know that Dumbledore was eventually able to defeat him. We know he lived the remainder of his days imprisoned until his death. For all Grindelwald was known for, he at least died without cowardice, never having divulged the location of the Elder Wand to Voldemort. Ten points to Grindelwald I guess.

I see it taking place today. I see the same tactics, the same twisting of truth. The same use of emotional control. The tactic used to the convincing of followers that if you join the collective you will get what you want too, convincing everyone they've been a victim of something.

Here's a nugget of wisdom, the only one who will get what they want is the one who is doing the manipulating.

Who of the two was the more devious villain, Voldemort or Grindelwald? One would outright kill you, the other could convince you to kill yourself.

foolish or unacceptable

Original post 5/15/2020

How many of you know that Sars-CoV-2 is the name of this strain of coronavirus not Covid-19?

When symptoms progress to become more severe and cause other conditions in those who already have underlying conditions, conditions that have weakened their immune systems, this is when it should be referred to as Covid-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019). At this point, their underlying conditions will either kill them quicker or they develop severe respiratory conditions such as pneumonia. It can also then progress to renal or liver failure. Again it is very rare that those infected with no underlying conditions progress to this point.

This also is not a death sentence if you have underlying conditions nor does it mean that you are sacrificial lambs. Life is not so absolute so neither should our labels be we tend to put on people we disagree with.

That being said, the number, according to the CDC website, if 100% reliable, of those who tested positive for Coronavirus currently sits at 1‚384‚930. Of that number there have been 83,947 deaths from covid-19.

Now we know the number of Coronavirus positive cases are probably more, simply due to the fact that one can be infected without any symptoms at all. I would also venture to say that out of that 1.3 million cases the majority of those who actually tested positive either had no symptoms or very mild to moderate symptoms. All we have are numbers.

The total population of the US is approx 331,002,651 men, women and children, give or take. Of that number approx 36,000,000 have now filed for unemployment since quarantine began. That's 36 million people who now are not earning money and aren't paying taxes and that number will continue to climb.

Does it make sense to shutdown the economy and shut-in 330 million people for way less than .4% of the population? You can argue that the number would've been higher had we not shutdown and to a degree you would be right but not to the astronomical numbers that people have been conditioned to fear.

The numbers don't support the fear.

The government planned a loan system to help businesses and already ran out of that money. Small businesses across the board will not be able to recover. The government is still sending people their first stimulus check from a $2 trillion package approved a month ago. Now they are proposing an additional $3 trillion package and possibly a continued check for all for an undetermined length of time. I guess it's good they won't ever run out of money huh?

There are those who aren't getting the healthcare they need because they've lost their insurance or they are too afraid to go to their doctor or their doctor's office has been closed so they simply can't get the healthcare they need. Some offices have even closed indefinitely due to lack of patients.

They are projecting our recession will be worse than that of the great depression.

Our food supply is in jeopardy. Debts are rising. Homelessness will rise if people can't work. Deaths will rise and not from covid.

If we can't work, where does the government get their money? If our food supply completely fails where will get our food? If our healthcare system fails, where do we go?

I know how hard it is to face the reality of death. We know it happens. That is the one thing we truly all have in common but we will never be ready for it. We want to prolong lives regardless of quality, for as long as possible, yet death will always come.

We don't fear Coronavirus. We don't fear Covid-19, we fear death.

So because fear has us in its grasp to the point where we can't breathe, we feel out of control and then we start trying to control what we think we can using any means necessary even being willing to allow others dictate the how, when and where of our lives. Control under the guise of safety.

While there is such a thing as healthy fear, this isn't it.

My husband wants to jump out of an airplane. I fear all of the things that could go wrong with that scenerio despite the numbers not supporting my fear. Yet I refuse to let him.

Am I right to keep him from that because of the one in .0007% chance he has of dying while skydiving? I don't keep him from driving, I don't keep from eating things that aren't good for him. He has diabetes, sleep apnea, Graves disease. He doesn't take his medication and yet I don't force a pill down his throat. He is more likely to die of those things 100x over than from skydiving yet I fear that more. Perhaps because it is the one I feel I can control the most or because I feel it is an unnecessary risk but then why don't I then force him to take his medication? I can control that just as easily. Right?

Oh wait, a plan is forming in my mind. What could my tactics be to have him see things my way because seriously why isn't his fear at the same level as mine?

I can guilt him. I can bombard him with numbers of people dying from all of the above but most especially from skydiving because that's what I fear the most. I could lie. I can show him pictures of amputations due to untreated diabetes but most especially pictures of someone whose parachute failed.

I could threaten him...

I guess if he fails to start seeing things from my perspective, I could always tie him down. Once that's done I can force feed him his pills, rabbit food and yes, more importantly, he can't skydive if he can't move.

Now I call that a win win situation.

I mean, how is this a bad plan?

Anyone want to help? He's a lot stronger than me so I'll have difficulty tying him down but if we, especially those who fear skydiving just as much as I do, all work together we can keep him alive. I mean he will probably struggle in the beginning but he'll just need time to adjust and then he'll begin to appreciate the lengths I took to keep him safe.

Anyone? It's the only way to ensure he's safe and alive.

???

Huh. Well then, I guess you don't care about his life like I do.

Left wanting

Last FB post
06/07/2020

I wasn't going to post anything because what good are my feelings on a detached online platform like Facebook when my friends are the only ones who see it? Well algorithm wise very few of you do unless it's a picture.

I am not looking for any likes and I am definitely not looking for debate. I have to get my feelings out or they will continue to weigh upon me and I just need to let it go.

There is a heaviness in the air and a sense of mourning has been weighing on me. I was hoping we would have learned something through quarantine, become changed human beings when we were suppose to be "in this together".

I never believe the first thing I see on msm or social media. It is always one sided, it is always meant for shock value and for some reason we love reacting first and thinking later. So I wait. I wait for truth to prevail. I wait for sense and sensibility. I wait for peace. I wait through the many angry posts. I wait for a viable solution I can get behind but most of the time I am left wanting and still waiting.

I fear we are losing our battle for humanity.

As an individual of mixed race I have always found it difficult to label myself as one race and never understood why I had to pick just one on standardized tests growing up. I felt if I picked either white/Caucasian or Pacific islander/Asian that I was ignoring vital pieces of who I was and ignoring a rich heritage and culture even though a dot on a page means nothing in the end. Nationality wise I have always been proud to be an American, proud of the principles on which the nation was founded.

Yes, atrocious things were done,  even by some of the very people who agreed that "all men were created equal". While the repercussions of those past evils are still being felt today we cannot judge the past through the lens of today nor judge today through the lens of the past. I believe the majority of people are inherently good. I also understand that not all people are of the same ilk and caliber of character, with good there will always be bad.

I believe the principles upon which our nation were founded are still good and righteous principles and those are still worth fighting for. We should all stand and fight for truth, for freedom, for peace, for right, for justice that is blind and fair, and for brotherly love and kindness.

The wounded heart must be healed. It must be given hope. It must be given faith. It must give and receive charity. If we do not have those three vital things our very existence is wasted.

We reap what we sow.