Honoring the Dead

We have a week until we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I have been thinking of his message for the past few days.  In many ways, we have made remarkable progress in the area of Civil Rights and in others we are stuck in the 60s.  Minorities are being hired more and more and in most places there is no color line.  Businesses recognize the contribution of African Americans all across this country, but the actual point of celebrating a holiday shows us that we have really not progressed that far.  If we really were color blind would have to celebrate these differences?

I think not.  I believe that in a world that is truly equal and truly diverse we would not look at a person’s skin color or the spelling of their last name.  We would not care if they spoke with an accent or dressed in garb that was foreign to our eyes.  We would judge, as Dr. King said, based on the “content of their character” more than anything else.  The point of having these holidays, aside from getting a day off from work, or a day to do some community service, is to make sure we remember that there was a time when things were worse as well as honoring a great person. 

I submit to you that remembering these things is a measure of how far we have come, surely, but we still have plenty of racism all around.  It’s not just white on black either, or white on any other color.  There is plenty of negative thinking by blacks against whites and fear by others of whites.  No, we have not come far in the ways of accepting all no matter the color of their skin, the tone of their voice, or the amount of grey in their hair.  We still need to honor those who have gone before us and fought for rights for any group they are associated with.  We still need be reminded that we have much further to go before we are truly a “Nation of the People”.

Wear Purple for Peace

Today is Wear Purple for Peace Day and I am wearing the required color.  Apparently aliens also like that color so if everyone wears purple today, then we may expect some aliens to arrive shortly.  Purple is the combination of blue and red, so the joining of political parties could be a peaceful thing.  Purple is the color of grapes and drinking wine can make you peaceful – well relaxed at any rate.  Purple is the color of the sunset, which is a very peaceful thing to see.  Purple is also the color of Lent in Christianity.  It is also the color of the domestic abuse awareness ribbons.

I wasn’t able to find out how this event came about, but how can you really argue about peace.  It should be is the lifelong challenge for all mankind.  It is the International Day of Peace at any rate, and that has been celebrated for the last 30 years.  It is a day for cease fires and non-violence worldwide and if wearing purple will help bring awareness to peace measure then I have no objections to it and wear it proudly.

Happy Holidays

I hope you all had a very happy holiday and it turned out as you wanted.  It is not totally over yet as there is the New Year’s celebration to take place, and I think there are some other year-end holidays that are going on.  But, basically the 2011 is over and 2012 is on the horizon and I don’t know about you, but to me it is a time to reflect and to right some of the wrongs one has control over.

That means getting back on the wagon for health.  I have big plans this year for a garden that will provide me all the fresh vegetables that my family can consume.  That is not a tall order in some respects as it is just my husband and me right now.  It is a tall order in the variety of vegetables that my garden can produce.  My goal is to not have to shop for vegetables at the store.  The other part of the wagon is not eating sugar and fat.  I have already begun drinking my coffee black to cut back on the fat.  I have a mouthful of sweet teeth so the sugar is a hard thing for me.  Of course the third part is the exercise.  My husband and I rode on Christmas day and are planning another ride today as soon as it gets a tad warmer.  It is a matter of discipline and awareness.  I am so out of shape for not doing anything last year that it is going to take some time to get back up to speed, but with the mild winter that is predicted, maybe we will be able to ride all the way through.

So this week and I am going to do some reflecting and list making to see what I can do to improve 2012.  Let’s see where this will go.

End of Year Holidays

This year was totally different from other years.  I guess it was the fact my father is not around any longer, my son is not around this year, and I am not on good terms with my brother.  So I decided that my husband and I would stay home and I got some turkey and fixings at the grocery store when I was there last weekend.  Granted it was just turkey cutlets and not a whole turkey which would have been way too much for just the two of us, but was turkey none the less.  Anyway, at the last minute, two of our friends had invited us over to their house only to change it at the last minute and decide to go to the Holiday Buffet at a local hotel because it was too much pressure to cook at home.  I ended up cooking the turkey meal I had planned for Thanksgiving on Tuesday night so it wouldn't go bad and we went to the restaurant yesterday with our friends.

I will not do that again.  First it was expensive and second the food was so-so.  Finally it didn't feel like a holiday.  Granted they had a large variety of things including turkey and cranberries and all that stuff, but it was not the same as what I thought a holiday meal should be.  To me a holiday meal should be done at home.  Maybe I am just old fashioned, but that's just me.  It just didn't feel the same.

So now we move on to Christmas.  It's Black Friday and those crazy people are out and about shopping like fiends and spending all kinds of money on presents that are going to be given and received and then forgotten about.  I guess I have gotten a little cynical in my old days.  My step-father didn't celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas, the latter being a chance for him to even get out of the country, by himself.  Growing up, his father was a raging alcoholic and it brought back horrible memories.  He also felt that Christmas was something that people felt obliged to do when they should get gifts for their loved ones all the time, not just once a year.  I kind of agree that all this hoopla is phony and we should get back to the real meaning if we are going to celebrate anything at all.  I have told my mother I don't want anything and I am going to do home baked things for the people on my list, and I haven't decided if I am even going to be with my family this year for the big dinner.  We will see. I may just get drawn into the whole thing at the end but it's making my eye twitch just thinking about it.

Thanksgiving

In a few days, you will be sitting down with your family and loved ones to celebrate a holiday that is uniquely North American – they celebrate it in Canada too, which I didn’t know until now. According to Wikepedia.org:

Thanksgiving in North America had originated from a mix of European and Native traditions.[1] Typically in Europe, festivals were held before and after the harvest cycles to give thanks for a good harvest, and to rejoice together after much hard work with the rest of the community.[1] At the time, Native Americans had also celebrated the end of a harvest season.[1] When Europeans first arrived to the Americas, they brought with them their own harvest festival traditions from Europe, celebrating their safe voyage, peace and good harvest.[1] Though the origins of the holiday in both Canada and the United States are similar, Americans do not typically celebrate the contributions made in Newfoundland, while Canadians do not celebrate the contributions made in Plymouth, Massachusetts.[2]

Over time it has taken on a new meaning – the start of the Holiday shopping season. Santa generally arrives at the New York City Thanksgiving parade and the craziness starts with every store vying for your attention as you ponder which gifts to buy your loved ones. But I digress.

Giving thanks on one day is of course meaningless if you don’t really feel gratitude for the things you are blessed with. Some of us give thanks for our family, our health, the fact we have a job, or simply the fact that we are better off than others. We think of those less fortunate and perhaps dole out a penny or two to charities that provide meals for the poor and/or sick and feel good that we have done something, albeit little, to help. Many perform that little ceremony and go around the dinner table sharing what we are thankful for, sometimes shedding a tear when a wee one says something poignant.

What does it all mean unless we practice giving thanks every day? We should, of course and most of us do, but sometimes I think we tend to take things for granted assuming that we will continue in the lifestyle we have become accustomed to without realizing that all too often one event, natural or otherwise, can change our lives dramatically. But before I get into an even more cynical mood, I wish you are yours a Happy Thanksgiving; may you be blessed with all you hope for, for now and forever.

Happy 4th of July!

Today marks the anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence when several brave men drafted and wrote a document, thought to be quite treasonous, basically telling England to go shove it.   The opening paragraph begins to tell the story.

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

It’s kind of like a teen leaving home and establishing their adulthood for anyone to hear.  Like an adolescent, this county had been suffering some growing pains since the colonization of the original thirteen colonies.  Thomas Jefferson was the one asked to write this document.  Jefferson was an inventive man, and had met several times with the committee of five who discussed this idea.  He did not make claim to the fact that these were his ideas, the idea of a government based on consent was an old idea.  However, the idea of a government “of the people for the people” was new.  But as he had written his own draft for the constitution of Virginia, it was thought he could use that as a basis.  So the document was written, revised with several suggestions from people like Franklin, Adams and many others who ended up signing the document.  In addition, not all that he wrote ultimately made it into the final copy.  It is said that Congress deleted a whole section because they didn’t believe in some of the words and ideas he had expressed.  All in all it was a declaration drafted by many and eventually ratified by all in power at the time.

History goes on from there to say that this document set the stage for the final removal of the original colonies from England.  There were several other documents penned and ratified that ended up to form what we know now as the United States of America, and whose birthday we celebrate today.  As Americans, both those born on this soil and those naturalized, we should know our history and should understand the sacrifices that all who have participated in its creation have made.  Much blood has been shed for the things that many of us take for granted.  This country with all its faults is the greatest in the world.  I, for one, and proud to be an American.

Happy birthday, America.  May you live long and free!