Tag Archives: “To Kill A Mockingbird”

Fear Itself

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Posted by on in Community, distraction issues, Personal Values, Social

October 9, 2016, Chula Vista-

I did a few errands and cleared out the trash and recyclables, this morning.  The rest of the day revolved around binge-watching of the TV show, “Supernatural”, a throwback to the mid- 2000’s and some reading, of some Baha’i documents and a couple more chapters of “To Kill A Mockingbird”, my early Fall re-read.

I am not watching this evening’s debate.  The guys are both on a group video game, and that makes for enough noise.  I am fully aware, courtesy of Sirius XM, of the controversy about  DJT’s vulgarities- which makes him about 1 1/2 degrees lower than a certain former President of recent vintage.  I am also aware that there are all kinds of accusations about how American women love to read about crassness and sexual proclivities- “except when it involves political conservatives.”

There is way too much fear going around, and it will likely lead people, on both ends of the political spectrum, to make bad choices. The fact is, no one person is going to do much of anything to derail our Constitutional way of governance.  If Congress is hog-tied, even a short-handed Supreme Court is going to step up- and we, the people, have ways- peaceful ways, mind you- of curbing executive excess.  Lyndon Johnson knew this, and pulled out of a re-election battle, in January, 1968.  Richard Nixon grudgingly accepted it, in August, 1974.

Fear is a healthy emotion, when it causes a person to pause, and take the measure of a situation, rather than engage in mindless cliff-jumping.  It is unhealthy, when it leads to paralysis and circular firing squads, such as we are seeing on one side of the political divide, and may see across the board, yet.

I have only one thing to say, regarding vulgar treatment of others:  Two wrongs, or twenty, do not make a right.

Nooses

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Posted by on in Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Spiritual, Striving

February 24, 2016, Prescott-  In “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Scout reminds one of the racist men that he, too, is a father.  The man then walks away from a hateful mob.  I was reminded of that scene, this evening, when a “racially-mixed” couple made a presentation, on their experience living here in this largely Libertarian city.  It seems that, not so many years ago, a noose was tied and left hanging, from a tree branch in their front yard.  While many treat them well, there are those I have historically viewed as misfits, trying to make those they view as square pegs, fit into round holes of their imaginations.

We each set a noose to a tree, at some point in our lives. Usually, it’s the noose of blame- intended for someone else, as a way of evading responsibility.  Sometimes, it’s the noose of “Us vs. Them”.  Other times, the “wagons in a circle” noose hangs, from the branch of imbalance.  We certainly see lots of these, of late.

The worst nooses of all, though, are those we set for ourselves.  The noose of anger, or that of addiction, lead us to swing from some unsightly branches.  The noose of self-pity, now, there’s one I have to work especially hard to keep off my neck, at times.

I am getting better at facing such traps, and cutting them down, before finding myself looking at a victim- or being one.  It’s been nearly 24 years since we heard, from a flawed, but cogent, voice:  “Can’t we all just get along?”