Be Postitive Day Eve

Intellectually, I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally I know she is better than every other country.

Sinclair Lewis
US novelist (1885 - 1951)

A busy weekend, with two jobs, three if you count conference committee.  Our writing group is planning a conference for November.  I think it's the tenth annual?  Apparently I'm on the Door Prize committee and I've agreed to hold a key--I'm not sure what I'm to do with it.  It goes to a post office box.  I wonder what kind of mail it holds? 
Should I be concerned?  Do I dare go check it?  I mean, nobody wanted this key.  Should I have refused?
So, it would be easy to not blog today, but I'm learning discipline in writing.  Can't grow as a writer if you don't write, right?  (that's right, I meant to do that)
Tomorrow is  International Be Positive Day.  Go to Sharon K. Mayhew's site for more information on how to be involved.
With everything going on in Oklahoma today, I had to wonder, do I really want to be positive tomorrow?  But, then I realized, YES!  Not only do I want to, but I need to be.  It's more important now than ever.  We have to send positive encouragement, prayers, support--whatever is needed to wherever it is needed. So much tragedy happens everywhere in the world.  We need to be optimistic. Being positive doesn't mean being flippant or having a pie in the sky view.  It means choosing hope and believing I'm more than my circumstances.  I can't choose what happens but I can choose my response. 
I'm thankful for my family in Oklahoma being safe tonight.  I pray for them and for the families who didn't fare well and who've lost loved ones.  Not just Oklahoma, but all of the Midwest.
It's an opportunity once again for Americans to be united in support for our people.

Back on the Road stopping at some cool tourist traps...oops, I mean blog spots:
Some Dark Romantic  Awesome reflections post, but don't stop there on her blog.
From the Inkwell, From the Vein writers should be naked and strange.  Trust me, you want to read it.
Sue Ann Bowling  Check out her book, Homecoming. It's not what you think.
Tales of the Rock  Very cool, especially if you like ghosts.  I know I do!
Blogging on the Brink check out an ex-librarian turned rockin' numbers cruncher.  Good music, too.
A Faraway View  About dreams, good, bad, what they mean.  Read before you sleep...
Claire Gillian  a lot to see at this site. Some intriguing romance to be found
J.Lenni Dorner  Check out her A to Z story and campaign against CAPTCHA
Moments of Introspection  heartwarming dog tails--tales--but that's not all to see
Destination:  Fiction  Lovely photos, informative, entertaining posts
Emily Unraveled  don't get a tat until you read her May 20th post

What's right about America is that although we have a mess of problems, we have great capacity - intellect and resources - to do some thing about them.

Henry Ford II
US automobile manufacturer (1917 - 1987)

 

Why I love Valentine's Day

What could be more capitalistic than to create a holiday in order to sell your product?  Think it doesn’t exist?  Google the term “Hallmark holiday.”  Many call Valentines’ Day one of these days. 

“No, not true,” say the romantic naysayers.  “Valentine’s Day is for lovers and only losers with no romantic liaisons rain on Valentine’s Day.  Those people are Valentine Scrooges, Grinches with no heart. “

Now, I’m the first to admit I love the sappy, sweet cards accompanying ten caret diamonds, but no matter what your personal reason for celebrating Valentine’s Day, the broader picture is that it’s a testament to American Capitalism.  Ask any man who’s serious about keeping his relationship.  The more you buy the better lover you are.

Let’s think about it for a second using a popular Valentine present:  the bracelet. First, there has to be freedom to own the materials for the jewelry; then business is done with the jewelers. The jewelers work with packaging companies to create boxes and bags unique to their store—i.e. Tiffany Blue.  Then the ad agency has to market the jewels. And, most important, there has to be freedom of speech and free enterprise to produce and distribute the advertisements and the products.   Last but not least, the public has to be convinced they can’t live without the product. 

Each February 14 we see the effectiveness of the marketing campaigns.

I tried to find the origins of Valentine’s Day, but all I found were disagreements.  We may not know if Valentine’s Day is to celebrate a martyred saint, a sex lottery commemorating a Roman goddess, or just the results of hack writers trying to sell a few poems, but we know one thing for sure: Americans will make money off it.

Normally I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s Day.  This year though, when many of my freedoms are being threatened, I find comfort in the myriads of commercials telling me not only how to buy the key to finding that special someone, but what I should buy him when I find him. It reminds me I still live in a free country. 

This year instead of making fun of Valentine’s Day, I’m going to embrace it.  I’m going to buy myself the biggest, prettiest roses I can find, and maybe a bracelet or at least a box of chocolates.  I won’t push the mute button when Jane Seymore talks about her Open Heart collection. 

What’s the story behind my open heart?  It’s a story of chocolates that increase my weight and cholesterol; of jewelry that puts me into debt; of sappy cards that go into the recycle bin a week later. It’s goofy plush animals and expensive lingerie that only looks good on 0.1% of the population. It’s lowered self-esteem if you don’t get the fanciest flowers.  It’s a story of companies creating holidays to sell products.

Most important, it’s the stories of capitalism and freedom that make it all possible.

I   LOVE   AMERICA! 

Remember Freedom?

Today is Veteran’s Day, the day when we remember those who serve to protect America’s freedom.  They sacrifice time, family, money, physical and emotional security, and their lives to protect our borders, our coasts, our interests abroad.   Our soldiers don’t fight for one particular race, religion, gender, or political party.  They fight for Americans.  They fight for all of us to be free.   

We talk of the bravery of soldiers as if they were different than us.  But what we have to remember is our soldiers are our neighbors, our friends, our sons and daughters.  Our husbands and wives.  They are American citizens just like us. 

We should honor them not by putting them on a pedestal, but by working alongside them, keeping America free on the home front, and thus giving them validation that their sacrifices are not in vain.

Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.  From the American Crisis—Thomas Paine.

We need to stand up for everyone’s rights, not just the groups with power or the groups we like.  We can’t be afraid to be politically incorrect.  We need to speak with love, but still hold to truth.  We have to have the courage to stand by our convictions, but the grace to respect those against ours.   Our forefathers broke away from dependence.  Our soldiers have fought for it.  Let’s not become enslaved to tyranny again.

If you want to honor the Veterans don’t just tell them thank you. Cherish the freedoms they give us. 
Don’t buy into “I can’t,” or “nobody will help me.” Don’t whine about how life isn’t fair.  Do something to change your life.  You live in America.  Don’t let anyone tell you “You can’t do that.”  Don’t believe someone who says you shouldn’t.  That should spur you to want to prove them wrong.  It’s in our American Spirit.

And never believe it when someone tells you it’s free. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--  (from the Declaration of Independence.)

There’s no guarantee in the Constitution that we will be happy. But we should never give up the power to pursue success.  It’s the American Dream.  It’s why people break into our country, not break out.

Every day should be Veteran’s Day because every day we should hold sacred our rights as American citizens.  We should do everything we can to not lose them. 

The last line of the Declaration of Independence is this:  And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.  That’s how much our forefather’s believed in freedom.  That’s what our Veterans are willing to pledge.  That's what our leaders today need to pledge.

What am I willing to give for freedom?  What are you? 

links to documents:
Declaration of Independence
The American Crisis

 

Living the Dream

I've been busy these past few weeks living the American Dream: home repair and improvement.  I mowed my grass on July 4th.  I look at it now and it already needs mowing again.  (audible sigh)  I needed to clean the drain in my bathroom and when I went to unscrew the joint the pipe broke.  It had rusted out.  My house was built in the 1950's and I think that's the last time anybody did something with the pipes.  And, if you've read any of my previous posts, you'll also know that I've had to build a new storage shed and patio area.  It finally is almost finished.  Home ownership is a responsibility.  I certainly could complain, but I'm not. 
This week we celebrated America's 236th birthday.  Now, 236 is young for a country.  We're older than our friends to the north, but across the Pond they have a few years on us. 

 

I'm actually sitting on the swing right now
typing and watching the sunset.   

236 years is plenty of time for thousands to have died so I could get in my truck, run to the hardware store for parts and gas station for fuel, fix my pipe and mow my grass and then take a nap in my hammock.  And I don't have to worry about the authority coming onto my property and arresting me or taking things without either my permission or a good reason written in a warrant. 
I'm grateful for those who fought to give me these freedoms. 
Doesn't leave much room for complaining. 
And yet people do. 
That's another good thing about America.  We have the freedom to complain. 
I have to say I'm happy with my little piece of America. 

I will leave here with my homework poem for Tuesday night.  This week has made me patriotic.


Self-Portrait of an American Woman
My hair is red, my skin is white, my eyes are blue.
My appearance is Irish, my name French
My people came from both those places and many more
 They came by ship, they came by wagon
They came voluntarily and by force.
They fought to form a country
where people could be free.

By birthright I am an American.

My parents were born in Texas.
Their parents were born in Texas, Louisiana, and Illinois.
I was born in Texas, as were my brothers.
I went to grade school in Texas,
 graduated from high school in Louisiana.
I went to McNeese State University
and the University of Texas.

I was made in America.

I went to college compliments of the state of Louisiana
 and repaid her by caring for her children.
I own my home, mow my grass, pay my bills.
I complain about how much a single person is taxed
and pay it gladly for the right to complain.
I protest tyranny, injustice, and the lunacy of the government,
then exercise my right to vote against it.

I earn my right to be an American.

I don’t know the depth of sacrifice
American soldiers pay daily for me to live free,
but I do everything I can to live worthy of it.
I will forever proudly say
I am not Irish-American, nor French-American,
nor African-American nor Japanese-American,
nor any other nationality that exists.

I am simply American.