THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT

 

Three Crosses, Ukraine

Prayer, Ukraine

I seldom remember a dream, but I awoke this morning with this short banner message in my mind’s eye:

“THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT IS LOVE.”

There will be no peace for humanity until the entire planet embraces that one eternal truth. This can only happen when enough human beings are willing to sacrifice everything to oppose the tyrants that arise out of complacency. One very unique being demonstrated this truth for us and a complacent humanity watched as he was crucified. We’re watching this play out once again, hoping for a different outcome. Get involved to stop the cycle of insanity!

Madeleine Albright, the first female US Secretary of State who immigrated with her family from Czechoslovakia, left us with these sage words to remember:

“The temptation is powerful to close our eyes and wait for the worst to pass, but history tells that for freedom to survive, it must be defended, and that if lies are to stop, they must be exposed.”

---May 15, 1937-March 23, 2022

EARN THIS. EARN IT!

 

Captain Miller and Private Ryan

Observations on Veteran’s Day 2021

Veterans Day was established on November 11 to recognize all veterans who honorably served in the U.S. military.  It acknowledges the armistice ending WWI which took effect on 11-11-1918 at 11:00 am.  Ed Rees. a congressman from Emporia, Kansas and a contemporary of my grandfather Ed Davis from Emporia, introduced a bill to make the date a federal holiday.  It was signed into law in 1954 by another Kansas native, President Eisenhower.

My great uncle returned home to Kansas suffering the ill effects of the trench gas of WWI and two uncles never recovered from the horrors of war suffered in the Pacific campaign of WWII, leaving my grandparents with the distinction of being Gold Star parents.

I graduated college and immediately began working as an Industrial Engineer at a Hercules solid rocket propellant plant at the outset of the Vietnam War.  My draft papers arrived as the war was winding down and were subsequently cancelled, so I was never exposed to war combat.  Just returning to the D-Day invasion and the fateful battle of Ramelle at the end of the renowned film, Saving Private Ryan, on the cusp of another Veterans Day remembrance was enough of an emotional roller coaster that I cannot imagine what any veteran experienced in actual combat.

The greatest generation that lived through the Great Depression and won WWII is now all but gone.  I witnessed a deplaning honor flight in Washington DC years ago and it was very emotional.  Many were just then beginning to tell their story.  And it would be a great travesty to forget their immense sacrifice.  Every generation has their own unique challenges and one of ours is to constantly remind ourselves that freedom is but one generation away from being lost.  And freedom is not free.

Captain Miller and his band of brothers we sent on a mission after D-Day to locate and bring back Private James Ryan, whose three brothers had all been killed in action.  He had been ordered to return to his mother’s side on an Iowa farm as her only surviving son.  The film opens with an elderly Private Ryan visiting the Normandy Cemetery at the cross of Captain Miller who saved Ryan’s life but lost his.  Captain Miller’s dying words to Ryan were “James.  Earn this.  Earn it.”  The gut-wrenching response at the grave site as his family stood aside was “I’ve tried to live my life the best that I could.  I hope it was enough.”  The film switches back to this scene at the end when Ryan’s wife approaches and he implores her “Tell me I’m a good man.”  His wife replies, “You are.”

Small acts of decency in the hellish horrors of combat can be the only saving grace of humanity.  On the 11/11/2021 observation of Veteran’s Day, may we all understand the sacrifice that has carried us to this day. 

And vow to “Earn This.  Earn It!” 

OPENING SCENE:

https://youtu.be/0HUf68gFGEE

ENDING SCENE:

https://youtu.be/IZgoufN99n8

THE AGE OF AQUARIUS

Sunshine Freedom, USA

MEMORIAL WEEKEND 2021

The 1960’s hit musical Hair included the Fifth Dimension hit recording Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In and promoted a new age of peace, love and light.  Some astrologers suggest it started on the conjunction that occurred in December 2020 or at the vernal equinox on March 20, 2021. 

Let it be so and let it start with you and me as we honor those who have given their all to preserve the freedoms of our great country—freedoms that we often don’t pause to appreciate and that we need to embrace more than ever on this dawning of a new age and Memorial weekend 2021.  Let us cast off the masks of hate and violence to reveal the light of a more perfect union, so that their sacrifice will not be in vain!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbCH5lnZ6sA

APPROACHING LIFE PHILOSOPHICALLY

Auschwitch, Internet Domain

“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered.  And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute.  History has stopped.  Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”  --George Orwell, 1984

All human beings share a common desire for meaning.  Did you choose to be born?  Neither did anyone else!  Jean-Paul Sartre reasoned that once born we are “condemned to be free”.  But with freedom comes responsibility.   And even when restrained, we always have the freedom regarding how we respond to circumstances.  Pragmatism teaches that we all have the capacity to strive to make things better in life, even though we will never achieve perfection.  We may be terribly restrained in life, but we have the freedom to act well.  Compassion for a child, animal or forest comes from being aware that we’re all interconnected.

No single role such as our jobs, our relationship status, our political views, our philosophical views, etc. can ever define a person since we are always changing.  Our elders teach us that you can never cross the same river twice because by the time you cross again, both you and the river have changed.  Aristotle encouraged his students to strive for success but acknowledge that external forces can inhibit that progress.  Hedonic calculus predicts whether something will be pleasurable in the long run or not, e.g., drinking beer all evening (short term pleasure or long-term pain) or studying at a university (short term pain for long term gain).  Actually, I was able to validate both examples on my way to achieving both of my degrees!

St. Augustine reminds us that the presence of evil gives us a perspective on those things that are good, e.g., a long harsh winter gives us a much greater appreciation for the warming spring.  A visiting tourist at the preserved Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz asked a guide why the locals hadn’t simply burned such a terrible place to the ground after the prisoners had been freed.  He replied that it had been discussed but after thoughtful consideration they wanted to preserve this place of horror as a reminder to the world that the events which created it would never be repeated.   Hate has created many problems in our history but has never solved any yet.   

 

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

Memorial Peonies, Jamestown, NC

Memorial Day 2020

There was a point in my business career when our company began aggressively extending our product lines to include products that had much more volatility and inventory risk than the basic lines that continued to pay the light bills.  High risk can yield high reward or calamity, while low risk yields low rewards and possible calamity.  However, our customers continued to have the same expectations for service that we had built our reputation on for years.  It wasn’t long before we came to the sober realization that we now had to not only focus on managing and classifying risk for our inventories but perhaps even more importantly our customers’ expectations.

This worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdowns have splashed a huge bucket of cold, reality water on the instant gratification society we have devolved into these days.  Of course, nobody wants to sit by quietly and watch our economy go from record levels to death spiraling lows almost overnight.  So, I agree that we must proceed cautiously to reopen our economy in the interest of balancing personal safety with personal wellbeing.  And personal responsibility goes hand-in-hand with personal freedom.

I received a financial update this week that reinterated the eternal truth that no one can predict the future and no one can accurately and consistently time the market.  This market analyst concluded with advice that really applies to everyone coping with the pandemic on a Memorial Day where people are once again flocking to crowded beaches and lakes with expectations that would still seem to be beyond common sense as this virus still actively moves among us:

“But we can all manage our expectations, as well as our emotions, when taking what the market gives us. Stay invested within your given risk parameters and stay the course of the plan you have laid out. There is an end date to this and we will get through these uncertain times.” 

And if you substitute the words “taking what the market gives us” with “taking what life gives us”, we will all be in a better place to manage our expectations on this day we honor our dead.  

FREEDOM'S CHILD

Freedom's Child, Emporia, KS

Freedom's Flag, Jamestown, NC

Reflections on Independence Day, 2019

I’ve had a lifelong affair with vehicles and it must be in my genes as my father managed a service station early in life before operating trains and my grandson loves any kind of train, plane or automobile.  I know that I’ve driven over a million miles so far and I still enjoy an early morning drive through Starbucks for coffee and the freedom of the open road.  I’ve had the joy of driving all sorts of vehicles from my first customized Ford Victoria in the 50’s, dump trucks and all varieties of family and rental cars to the ultimate driving machine.  Those early morning drives are free from worldly distractions and enable one to clear the mind and meditate on what’s important.

That freedom of the road and of my life was purchased by the sacrifice of countless patriots starting in 1776, including WWII which took the lives of two of my uncles.  They were plucked from a Kansas farm life and thrust into the most horrific experiences that anyone can imagine.  The Medic never returned home and the Seabee returned to a completely distorted life after jungle malaria and untold demons.  I remember my grandmother finding solace in the Gold Star Mothers meetings she religiously attended and we sold poppies on Veterans Day to help those who returned with injuries. 

I was born during the war and enjoyed fruits of the post war boom or Pax Romana, a period of relative peace and prosperity in which there is one dominant nation, America.  My cousins and friends all benefited from this bustling period when most of the first world countries were rebuilding and America was riding the crest of the men coming home to a robust economy.  We spent lazy, hazy, crazy, endless days of summer running free in the Heartland pastures and riding bikes on the city streets until sunset.  Denim blue jeans with rolled up cuffs and pure white T-shirts with the sleeves rolled up were the uniform of the day along with flat top haircuts and suntanned skin in stark contrast.  Rock ‘N Roll music with Elvis ruled the airwaves as WLS in Chicago during the day and Wolfman Jack from Del Rio, Texas at night beamed into our cars dragging the gut!

The adults of this era were scarred from the horrors of war and perhaps showed some restraint to the children that were spared the experience.  But now in retrospect, I understand and truly appreciate their sacrifice and courage.  I also understand that freedom is not free and is always just one generation from being lost.  I do not appreciate those today who take our freedoms so casually.  And when it comes to respect for our flag and all that it stands for in this great nation, I will not defend the right of those who denigrate it.      

CONCH CROCUS HAIKU

Conch Shell Crocus, Jamestown, NC

The young crocus shoots,
desperately seek sunshine,
and find sweet freedom,
through the shell’s broken surface.

LOVE AND SIN

Love, High Point, NC

When we read in Genesis that human beings were created in God’s image, it doesn’t mean that we look like our Creator but that we are able to relate like our Creator. Our God is a relational God. I believe it also implies that since one of the greatest attributes of God is love, we were endowed with the free will or freedom to either share in that relationship or to turn our backs on God. It’s been said that God can do everything except compel us to love him—by design. Paul writes in the love chapter of First Corinthians that “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails”. We now vaguely understand our relationship with our creator, as if seeing through a dark glass or a blurry reflection in an ancient mirrored surface, but we will see more clearly when we’re restored to our original perfection.

We cannot enter into a relationship with God without the freedom of choice. We Americans living in the land of the brave and home of the free have learned that freedom is not free. Freedom carries with it certain responsibilities, dedication and sacrifices. And human history continues to move toward freedom because it is written on the human heart. However, nations of men have lived under severe persecution and denial of basic unalienable rights endowed by their Creator. Individuals have become wrapped in the chains of severe addictions that have robbed them of their ability to freely live life. Sin is not just a violation of a moral code, but it’s also a consequence of not developing a relationship with our Creator. Instead, we immerse ourselves in self-idolatry and deny our reliance on others. When we set out to be our own God and not to seek the grace and will of God, the destructive consequences known as sin easily corrupt the peace, hope and security of our existence.

Physics teaches us that nature abhors a vacuum. So when the human heart does not nurture love, rent free space is available for sin to move in and fill the void. Thankfully we have a forgiving Creator, since no human being is without sin.

GUN STORES

Land of the Free and the Brave, Washington, DC

"Let's put a teacher in every gun store"!

--Jef Johnson

DRINK WITH ME

Liberty,Equality,Fraternity, Versailles, France
Royal Bedroom, Versailles, France
Garden Balcony View, Versailles, France
Formal Garden, Versailles, France

Of all the music and specifically musicals I’ve experienced in life, Les Miserables is by far the most powerful and emotional that is life changing. The events draw upon Victor Hugo’s classic novel of the social and political turmoil around the Paris uprising of 1832. The music by Claude-Michel Shonberg and the unforgettable lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer soar out across the orchestra to deliver a permanent impression between your ears. In the spring of 2006 we had the good fortune to take a long anticipated trip to London and Paris. While in London, we followed Rick Steves' advice and stood in an early morning line for unclaimed theater seats for that evening’s performance of Les Miserables at the Queen’s Theater. We scored right center seats up front.

The experience was enhanced just a few days later as we walked the formal gardens and halls of the palace of Versailles where the French King Louie XVI and his wife Marie-Antoinette lived an extravagant, luxury loving, “let them eat cake” life with their court. We stood in the Queen’s Guard room where on October 6, 1789 a mob of revolutionaries who were starving in the streets of Paris stormed the palace at the outset of the French Revolution of 1789-1799. The two symbols of decadence and detachment from the common people were overthrown, but not without the ultimate sacrifice of many young patriots.

We have the power of the ballot box and electronic social media today. The patriots’ drinking song in a Paris tavern on the eve of their lost defiance in the barricaded streets is one of the most poignant toasting songs I have ever heard or sung and it almost always brings pause to collect emotions:

Drink with me to days gone by.
Can it be you fear to die?
Will the world remember you
When you fall?
Could it be your death
Means nothing at all?
Is your life just one more lie?

Drink with me to days gone by.
To the life that used to be.
At the shrine of friendship, never say die.
Let the wine of friendship never run dry.
Here's to you and here's to me.

HERE’S TO FRIENDSHIP!