If you knew the future,
what would amaze you?
Reading Old Poets
Reading Old Poets
Before the words are spoken,
before a wheel has broken,
beyond the horizon of time
and in the far reaches of a mind
the story has been constructed and told
then reconstructed, so it never gets old
for the imprint of love on life is known
beyond anything the heaven’s have shown
to be the unchanged fortunes of a poet’s fate
no matter long-ago written or just-of-late
it becomes who we are and what we will read
beyond the horizon of a life we will lead
The Optimist’s Shadow
The Optimist’s Shadow
Eighty percent chance of rain,
but it might not.
Seventy percent chance of pain,
but it might not.
Sixty percent chance of division,
but it cannot.
Fifty percent chance of revision,
but it will not.
Forty percent chance of caring
but does it matter.
Thirty percent chance of waring,
and this will matter.
Twenty percent chance of sunshine,
and this will make it clearer;
the optimist’s shadow is hard to find,
and a winter of discontent is ever nearer.
Patriotism…
Picture by: Lori Smith
Bubble by: Mikayla Pham
“Patriotism or national pride is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to a homeland or the country and alliance with other citizens who share the same sentiment to create a feeling of oneness among the people.” Wikipedia.
This definition from Wikipedia is beautiful, the creation of … “oneness among the people” … It does not say oneness of people that worship the way you do, look the way you do, that watch only certain news channels, that vote only the way you do, it says rather the “oneness among the people” that share the same sentiment of attachment to homeland and country.
Independence from oppression of a monarch an ocean away, brought many varied colonies together to create the United States of America. The external threat, the desire to find oneness and safety on this continent and grow the greatest country in the world with the experiment of government by the people, for the people, through democracy and reason and compromise, rather that rule of power, rule of authoritarianism and the rot of nepotism. Our Founders created our form of government with the explicit intent to overcome oppressive forms of government and to build something the world had never seen before.
So, on this Independence celebration I pray we might again find that we can overcome the oppression of conspiratorial thought, the threats of autocratic rule, the incitement of divisions and hate in our country. Declaring that these states shall not fail, and insisting in locking arms together with all citizens sharing the sentiment of love, devotion and attachment to this country for the purpose of “oneness among the people” … and acknowledging we are all Patriots!
Potential
Potential
The gap between capability
and dreams.
The gravitational energy of
massive demand.
The measured charge of every ion
of your being.
To be overcome with
just a nudge, a spark.
In the right direction
toward the future.
Toward your dreams.
Today is a Day
Today is a Day
It is not tomorrow
it is not yesterday
unique to itself
it may seem routine
and familiar
but it is entirely different,
here only once.
The wind forms the sail
and the waves are pushed
by forces of wind and moon.
Each wave, lives in this moment
and is gone when it’s gone.
We are formed by this wind
and pushed too by wind and moon
as we live in this moment;
and when it is gone, it is gone.
But for now it is today.
Listen for Wisdom
Listen for Wisdom
Your beliefs are everything
and your wisdom unassailable
You can be told of nothing,
the door to your mind unpassable.
I ask you to suspend
such hard fought disbelief
and open the door to another.
Who is willing to bring some relief
to the suffering of a confused brother.
For the more narrow our sources of thought,
then the more radical beliefs emerge.
And we become one fraught
with fears, which brings us to surge
into darkness, where wisdom no longer shines.
And we see a world divisive and of pain.
Allowing us to be dragged further into the mines,
in search of something lost, and something to gain.
All because you let others with evil intent
control your mind, closing the door with words
of hate, and keeping you in their circus tent,
while they sharpen their weapons and swords.
Before they putting you to their evil use.
Please my friend, open your mind one more time
to ideas that you continue to disabuse.
And let wisdom shine in all corners of your mind.
…. before it is too late!
Soul Wish…
Soul Wish
Let me bring the world texture
Let me be a brilliant color mixture
Or maybe, I’d be the base of a sculpture
Full of life, and activity it would capture
Or the base-color of a painting, green
I think, for it must be of beauty and serene
This color is for everywhere, as in spring
And the stems of the flowers I would bring
Or because, I have nothing more than rhymes
Of a poet in my capacity, and in these times
I’ll bring you, as I can, if I might, just a tiny smile
As you read this, and think of me for just a while
The next generation, educated, unchained, and ethical… Our hope… Part 6 of 6
… if you prefer to read this series as one page, please go to https://mikevargamusings.com/institutions-re-examined/
In the November election, the young people I know were more involved, and more insistent that their voice be heard than I’ve seen since the 1970’s. In the last several decades, as young people get to the point of career decisions, family decisions and the new stresses on finances, they would find little time for politics, little time for considering the impact institutions have on their lives.
However, I’ve noticed a new awakening. Expanded understanding. This next generation is much more highly educated thanks to an explosion in college education. Partly due to student loans, and a more technically demanding society and job market. But none-the-less the number of people with some college versus no-college has dramatically increased. College is not just about education, but also diversity. Exposure to more people and more ideas than prior generations. In the past, people grew up and lived within a 20-mile radius of home. This was pretty much a norm, and except for either forced migrations or military service, most people had limited exposure to other social environments. It is no longer.
If you want further anecdotal evidence, consider the emergence of new thinking and acceptance of alternative family structures. Yes, the institution of the family. Today on television shows, and on all sort of advertising, notice the variation in family structure. Capitalism show’s us what people are interested in and what is acceptable, more so than any other indicator. Interracial families, homosexuality, and diverse living arrangements are prevalent and becoming more prevalent. This is not the Leave It to Beaver generation.
This generation is re-examining the core constructs of our institutions. It is challenging to many of us, to consider the way they have unchained their thinking. They are resetting the norms. The institution of church has not kept up with them, and yet they have great faith in each other, in humanity, and they are spiritual. They are ethical and they have reverence for the Earth and all people. They’ve chosen to turn upside down our traditional notions of how things are done. They are more interested in ensuring each other’s space, and happiness, than restricting each other into norms of prior generations. They are breaking our social fabrics and repairing in ways that are far more colorful and textual. This generation is not weighted by the institutions that dominated their parents and grandparents’ lives, and they are far less judgemental.
Prior generations were asked to ignore the decay and corruption for sake of the power of institutions. I like this new generation, I like this generation’s learned skepticism and their way of gaining wisdom. Our world is in good hands. They will come back to religion, all people do, but in their own way, and they will make it better than what we’ve known.
Furthermore, I suspect this generation will insist that their government institutions, their healthcare, and their educational institutions will do the same. It will take time, but it will happen. They will remake these institutions just as they are remaking our social world. As long as we give them space, by maintaining our justice system and our free press, they will find a way. They will redefine our world to make it what they want to leave for the generations that follow. The white supremacist movement, the authoritarian biases of extreme right-wing nationalists will fight this, and will do so on the basis of cultural and social issues. This makes them very dangerous. For this reason, we must support our free press and rules of law. We must give space for this next generation to survive the last gasps of intolerance and racism.
We must hold institutions accountable to their mission and purpose, and correct corruption where we find it. This next generation will then have the space to make the world a better place.
I have great hope in the future.
The Advantage of Rule of Law, Free Press… Part 5 of 6
… if you prefer to read this series as one page, please go to https://mikevargamusings.com/institutions-re-examined/
I was thinking the other day that the difference we enjoy as a country, vis-à-vis so many failed states, is the rule of law which is largely uncorrupted, and a free press, which we hold in high enough regard, to not thwart its capability to hold institutions accountable. Yes, news outlets have become increasing opinion dominant, and can be a part of the conspiratorial problems we see, but there are many outlets still providing news, and presenting alternative opinions. We, as a people, have the opportunity to research and understand issues, and our institutions from many viewpoints. As individuals we should be advocates for multiple outlets of information. Encourage others to seek additional points of view, for then, maybe we can keep conspiracies in check, and have better insight to the functions of our institutions.
Our justice system works for us. Certainly, there are biases built-in to the system, but fairness is checked through our free press. These two institutions make us better than we could be otherwise. For as we’ve established institutions can and will be corrupted.
The challenge of the 2020 election in court cases that presented no real evidence of fraud were repeatedly thrown out in every case, sometimes by judges that had been appointed by the Trump administration. The justice system, when it came to upholding the rule of law, was a bedrock institution in our country. This stability protects our rights. Ensuring that laws that have been passed by our legally elected representatives are upheld, as well as, ensuring that our constitutional rights are respected.
A free press keeps us aware of excesses or failures of institutions; and the judicial system, holds the institutions and its leaders to account. Clearly the judicial system, and the press are institutions, but they are institutions with sufficient fragmentation and diversity to keep from being corrupted from the top down for power, they operate on traditions that keep them from being overcome by bureaucracy. Although subject to the efficiency errors of labeling, they are sufficiently dedicated to their mission of justice, and informing (journalistic integrity) that they have survived intact despite attempts to corrupt them.
A new generation is emerging. I see it everywhere, and I think it is amazing, and it gives me hope that we have protected our systems and institutions well enough that they may just be repaired and made better by this next generation.