Commentary Catch-up

Today I will mention several current event topics and provide my perspective on them. These are brief mentions, not research pieces, although perhaps research is what is needed?

Religious Freedom has responsibilities. In America each citizen is free to his own spirituality and to worship in his own manner. The responsibility is not to demand that others believe or worship as he does. That’s the freedom part. You get to do your thing. Others get to do their things, too. They may not be in agreement, but then they don’t have to be. You believe in preserving fetuses from abortion? Fine. Don’t have an abortion and teach your kids the same if possible. But let others believe otherwise. I believe that an unwanted child is worse than abortion. We need to improve the welcome of each child born into this world, not condemn them to poverty, war, chaos and ill health. My religion dictates that to me. Perhaps yours is different? Fine. I won’t bother you. Please don’t bother me in this matter.

We need Russia as a partner against ISIS. ISIS is a global peril, not just a Middle Eastern one. Innocents are being murdered, sexually molested and enslaved in the name of a politicized religion. It is power run amok and needs to be dealt with accordingly. The powers of the world need to coordinate action to eliminate the ISIS threat and restore order in the regions so far devastated by ISIS. We should welcome all nations to join that effort.

Obamacare is a good program. Fix the things that need improvement. Strengthen it wherever possible. No major program, project or legislation was perfect at the outset of its life. Not even the US Constitution. It was immediately amended by the Bill of Rights. So, if the objectives of Obamacare are being mostly met, tinker with the weak components and fix them. Strengthen the program over time to remove the problem areas. Like Social Security, the Affordable Care Act is proving its value to our economy and society. Now let’s commit to preserving it and improving it.

Cease celebrity worship. Focus on more important matters. Like Chicken Little, attention was spent on the falling sky that wasn’t. Celebrity lives may be interesting but they provide little or no value to the issues that truly matter. Perhaps that’s why I don’t like soap operas on TV. Or movies that are disguised soap operas, either! Move on to the things that are important to the common good. Leave entertainment to their space and time. Leave news programming and documentaries for the important items upon which we should focus energy and intellect.

Remove ‘sponsored’ news items from news websites; they are nothing but ads that suck you into internet hell! Are you kidding? The MSN website contains ‘news’ items that are ‘sponsored’. Click on them and you are not getting news, but a pitch to buy an insurance policy, or compare auto insurance rates via a massive computer system that gloms onto your email address and forever contacts you via the web, email or phone. MSN should remove these hell hole invitations immediately.

We rescued Hungarian refugees in 1956; now look at the role reversal! I am emotionally drained watching the injustice of Syrian refugees being turned away at the Hungarian border, or being rounded up and treated as criminals. The horrors of Nazi Germany are rekindled. And then I remember 1956 when Hungary was forcefully invaded and America took in thousands and thousands of refugees. They became powerfully energized members of the American melting pot and contributed their culture and intellectual powers amazingly. Now they are rebuking welcome to their nation? How very sad!

Focus on high priced housing? Why? Nearly every day I am invited on the Internet to visit sites that tout the fanciest housing on the market today. Why? Why would I want to take a virtual tour of these amazing homes I cannot possibly afford, or even don’t need whatsoever?  Interesting homes, fabulous interiors, tantalizing architecture, yes! I understand the attraction. But aren’t we actually being enticed to spend more on what we don’t need? Is this really what America boils down to? Thoughtless consumption is wasteful and hedonistic. Leave house tours to magazines and fund raisers.

“Give us your tired and poor, teeming masses…” Emma Lazarus’ poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty is a heartfelt entreaty to welcome all who arrive on our shore. Read it in its entirety in silence and concentration. Then tell me immigration is wrong. If you truly feel it is wrong, then what does that say about your American heritage?

Some of the above cause me to weep. Can we get back on point and love our country by improving it to standards we believed in the past? They were a major part of our development. Aren’t they still a major part of what makes us uniquely American?

Peace to you all.

September 18, 2015