Let Me In: The huddled masses yearning to breathe free...

Alicia Keys' short film is powerful. I've long said the same thing...

If Americans had to face the daily struggles of refugees, if Americans had to endure daily violence by the hands of despot dictators, domestic insurrectionists, as well as from invasive foreign military powers, our perception, our compassion, our empathy would increase dramatically. Until we as Americans view refugees as humans, as ourselves, the struggles will continue.

Thinking back through the corridor of history, I am reminded that nearly all/many of the waves of immigrants and refugees to The USA were those who escaped hostile and inhospitable conditions in their own nations. The USA was founded by those who themselves felt the persecution by England. The vision of the Founding Fathers was to create a nation of safety, independence and freedom. America certainly has not been perfect in her attainment of those lofty goals, but as we have grown as a Nation in awareness, empathy, and in our own humanity, we are closer today than we were in 1776. And by doing so, are closer to forming a more perfect union for all of our citizens. As Jim Wright says, "If you want a better nation, be better citizens."

Sadly, we have collectively forgotten our foreign heritage, our refugee heritage, we have collectively forgotten the struggles of our immigrant parents and grand-parents. Unless we are descendants of the First Nations, ALL of us are children of immigrants, and often times we are children of refugees. As children of refugees, we should embrace present and future refugees in the spirit of what this great nation stands for.

The Statue of Liberty stands stalwart in the winds and weather, braving darkness and season, facing away from our shores to the horizon toward those arriving from other lands. Displaying broken chains at her feet, holding a torch of light in one hand and the Declaration of Independence in the other, Liberty stands as the Lighthouse welcoming us Home.

Inscribed on Liberty's pedestal,
the words of Emma Lazarus in her poem "New Colossus".

An invitation. A reminder.

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

 

We Can Do It: Women Can Stop Trump!

I am voting FOR Hillary Clinton because she is the most qualified candidate. Period. I am not voting for her BECAUSE she is a woman.

Honestly, any woman voting FOR Trump really really needs to examine her mental state...any man voting for Trump really really needs to be examined by a woman regarding his mental state!

The only reasons I seem to hear from Trump supporters about why they are voting FOR Trump is because they are anti-Hillary.

Look, I get it...she was not my first choice. But she is THE only adult remaining in the room. She is professional, qualified and shoulders above Trump in regard to character, temperament, intelligence, compassion and empathy.

Yes, differences are good. Diversity of thoughts, ideas and concepts are healthy and bring moments of productive discord in order to move a society forward.

But when the differences exhibit nothing more than immature, infantile, juvenile, misogynistic, predatory and parasitic behavior, there is just no denying the fact that Trump lacks the qualifications for the office of President. Trump is wholly unfit to even stand in the room with those who ARE qualified for the Presidency and his presence in this race is an insult to those who have held the office and will hold the office. Furthermore, if Trump weren't the owner of his own company, no company would ever hire him as CEO.

Trump is brash, unpredictable, unintelligible, unhinged with no apparent regard for anything or anyone except himself. His behavior, his character, his "success", his celebrity and his status appear to be drawn from, driven by and enhanced through "the seven deadly sins": Pride, Envy, Wrath, Gluttony, Lust, Sloth and Greed.

/my page, my rant, my opinion/

#WomenCanStopTrump

"The world will be saved by the western woman." 

~ The Dalai Lama, Vancouver Peace Summit 2009

"Your vote really, really, really counts. A lot! 

You could consider me Exhibit A of that truth." ~ Al Gore

Be a Tree Hugger!

The village women in the Garhwal Hills of India.

Some people use the term "tree hugger" with such disparaged contempt, like it's some sort of outdated hippy term to deride those with environmental conscience because they actually want to make a difference in the world!

In actuality, Tree Hugger is a badge of honor earned by standing in the gap between commercial greed and wanton destruction...between profits and planet...between what's best for society and what's ultimately best for all Citizens of Earth.

Being a Tree Hugger is not simply "hugging a tree" (although it is that too!). A Tree Hugger is an advocate, an activist, an action'ist who has the goal of assuring that our children and our grandchildren have a world into which to arrive.

As Tree Huggers, we are duty bound to leave the world in better shape than how we found it, because the world does not belong to the us, we belong to the Earth. As in the words of an unknown Sage, "We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children".

It is our responsibility as a Tree Hugger to stand in the gap, to protect Planet Earth and to promise that the actions of the present will not cause the demise of the future...

How to be a Tree Hugger?

• Reduce, re-use and recycle!
• Get involved locally with environmental and ecological groups.
• Support other advocates like the DAPL water protectors.
• Give voice to the future by speaking against present adversaries.
• Demand equality, justice and decency!
• Speak up against falsehood, the status quo and "good ol' boys clubs".
• Plant kindness, share love and inspire others.
• Lastly: vote...vote with your ballot, your voice, your pen, your pocketbook. Your vote is your approval, your endorsement, your permission to allow or disallow something.

Be the change you want to see in the world...

Be a Tree Hugger!

- - - - 

The first tree huggers were 294 men and 69 women belonging to the Bishnois branch of Hinduism, who, in 1730, died while trying to protect the trees in their village from being turned into the raw material for building a palace. They literally clung to the trees, while being slaughtered by the foresters. But their action led to a royal decree prohibiting the cutting of trees in any Bishnoi village. And now those villages are virtual wooded oases amidst an otherwise desert landscape.

Not only that, the Bishnois inspired the Chipko movement (chipko means “to cling” in Hindi) that started in the 1970s, when a group of peasant women in the Himalayan hills of northern India threw their arms around trees designated to be cut down. Within a few years, this tactic, also known as tree satyagraha, had spread across India, ultimately forcing reforms in forestry and a moratorium on tree felling in Himalayan regions.

Source

Photo: The village women of the Chipko movement in the early 70's in the Garhwal Hills of India, 

protecting the trees from being cut down.