Potpourri

A collection of brief items:

Smile Power

A cute card flashed on the internet the other day – it portrayed rough-drawn people hand in hand standing side by side. They were smiling. And the caption read “people smile in the same language.”

Thinking about that I recalled countless times in which I was the outsider, the foreigner. Tentative but hopeful I strode forward, smiled at anyone close at hand and ventured further into the crowd, gathering, workplace, whatever. They too were tentative naturally but they most often smiled; at me. A connection was made. But a link to take another step.

Whether a domestic or foreign traveler, or a salesman new on his contact list, a smile is the first point of entry for new beginnings. A passport, if you will, to new relationships be they business, community, church or personal. Connecting with others opens the door; a smile is the key to that door.

Grump Power

There are those, of course, who do not smile easily. These are often the ones who give a look to the world as though they wish to pick a fight. Another bromide from the Internet:

“There are some people who always seem angry

And continuously look for conflict.

Walk away; the battle they are fighting isn’t with you,

It is with themselves.”

You know well the type! Grumpy countenance. Frisson of brow. Lips swerved toward sneer. Ready for disagreement. Dare you to enter my space. And if you engage this person, watch out! Statements that dare you, challenge you. Persona non grata from the get go! Not a welcoming sort. No smile indeed.

Protection Power

The movement to protect women has a mission. It is to put a stop to these facts:

• 1 in 4 US women are victims of domestic violence
• 3 US women are murdered by their partners every day
• 1.3 million US women reported being raped or sexually assaulted in 2009
• 1 in 6 US women have survived attempted or completed sexual assault
• 15 million US children are exposed to domestic violence each year

This data comes courtesy of the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. They have a huge task before them. So do we all. The first step, however, is not ignoring the facts.

Spiritual Power

President Obama has said: “Whatever we once were, we’re no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of non-believers…” 

Amen to that! We are of many faiths, traditions and cultures. Not all are spiritual but they seek the inner person. And calm. Acceptance. Diversity. Community. Togetherness. Peace.

Ignorance Power

Neil deGrasse Tyson said: “People cited violation of the First Amendment when a New Jersey school teacher asserted that evolution and the Big Bang are not scientific and that Noah’s ark carried dinosaurs. This case is not about the need to separate church and state; it’s about the need to separate ignorant, scientifically illiterate people from the ranks of teachers.” Enough said on that!

Reason Power

Thomas Paine is reported to have written: “To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”

There surely is no positive end to such medicine; nor does meaningful conversation have a chance when reason is absent; from either party. A willingness to listen, hear, process and respect is needed. Reason springs from such good soil.

Women’s Rights Power

Bernie Sanders is a marvel. He is the US Senator from Vermont, and a registered Independent. This gentle giant says a lot with this quote:

“We are not going back. We are not returning to the days of back-room abortions, when countless women died or were maimed. The decision about abortion must remain a decision for the woman, her family and physician to make, not the government.

We are not going back to the days when women could not have full access to birth control. We are not going back to the days of wide-scale domestic violence, even if 31 Republican men in the Senate recently voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

We are not going back to the days when it was legal for women to be paid less for doing the same work as men, even if the governor of Wisconsin recently signed a bill to repeal that state’s pay-equality law. We are not going back.”

If you look for it, a lot of good things are said every day by a lot of good people. There is good sense and reason in the land. We must use it as needed. And have faith that right will out.

May 4, 2012