Is This All There Is?

“The real question is, is there life before death?”

~Alan Cohen~

“There is just one life for each of us: our own.” 

~ Euripides~

Just this week, I had the honor of attending the funeral of a man who, perhaps more than anyone I’ve ever known, earned the right to ask, “Is this all there is?”  And yet, he never did.  A three-year battle with ALS forced him to leave a career he loved.  ALS took a strapping, strong man and confined him to a wheel chair.  It eventually did what it does to all people with ALS.  It killed him, leaving behind a wife, two daughters, parents, and a brotherhood that loved him.

But Tracy didn’t ask that question.  He took the disease head on.  He gave thanks that it was he that was diagnosed, and not others with less of a support mechanism.  He stayed involved.  He helped raise local awareness of this crippling, fatal disease, and he professed his faith to the bitter end. 

Admittedly, I don’t share Tracy’s same faith in a “savior” nor do I share in the same belief of a hereafter: heaven, if you will.  But I have been faced with that same question for much lesser reasons, and most times, chose to look for more rather than fight.  “Is this all there is?” I’d ask.  “There must be more than just this.  I have to find it,” was very nearly always my answer.

It’s a “grass is always greener” scenario, and most of us already know how that plays out.  It’s no surprise, the grass is nearly always greener where you water it. 

Now, I don’t live my life with much regret.  Perhaps I should.  But, that serves no real purpose.  I have been wired, conditioned, or taught, for whatever reason, to “seek.”  I have, on numerous occasions, taken the path less traveled for the sake of finding out if this is, indeed, all there is.  And I do have an answer that works for me.   Yes, this is all there is.

Perhaps you’re in a place where you’re asking yourself that same question.  Maybe you’re sitting around the dinner table with a wife and two children.  It’s loud, chaotic, and mundane.  That “spark” is gone from your marriage, or you feel tied down, or your dreams are slipping away.  Maybe you’re feeling underappreciated at work.  Or maybe it’s you who has been diagnosed with a crippling or fatal illness and you’re wondering, “Why me?”

If you know me at all, you know I don’t profess to know the answers for you.  Sadly, only you can know what rests well with your spirit.  But before you go looking for whatever there is beyond “this,” be sure you’ve looked ahead far enough to consider the cost.  Venturing out for greener pastures can mean heartache, loneliness, holidays without family, unemployment, unrest, and much more.  It can also mean liberation, freedom, excitement, and a renewed sense of adventure.  Again, only you can answer that one.  And you may not know for sure until you try. 

Here is what I know for certain, no matter who you are.  This is all there is.  It is.  This relationship, this car, this spouse, this job, this house, this life is all there is.  So you can stop asking that question if you wish.  It’s been asked and answered over and over again.  The real question, before you decide to stay or venture out in search of greener pastures is,

“What I am going to do with it?”

Dig Deeper

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

 

~ Martin Luther King, Jr. ~

 

 
“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” 

 

~ Martin Luther King, Jr. ~

 

 

Just recently, arguably one of the largest massacres in American history took place in Orlando, Florida.  This isn't news to you.  It can't possibly be.  

Just recently, an American soldier died in the Middle East.  I'll bet that's news to you.  

Just today, an Middle Easterner was killed at the hands of an American soldier.  I'm guessing that's also news to you.

And still, just today, somewhere in America.....in fact, probably somewhere nearly everywhere on the planet, someone was killed by a handgun or assault rifle.  And let's face it.  We've become so calloused to the whole idea, that's not even on the radar as news.  

For a couple days now, I've been trying to come to grips with why all these things are happening.  The truth is, I many never know.  Perhaps, it's just human nature to kill or be killed; to destroy or be destroyed.  Perhaps it's our nature to judge and shut out understanding.  Perhaps we're just really a race of hate.  But I don't think so.

 

I recently got schooled by some people I respect on, of all places, Facebook, about why it's important we remember this most recent massacre took place in a Gay night club as opposed to just a night club.  It's important we understand this was a pointed and bigoted attack on a particular "group" of people.  I get it.  I do.

As a writer, I've always felt my "job" was twofold;  write for joy and make people think.  Or at least try to make them think.  It's not always easy.  But when it comes to things like war, and killing, and gun control, gun control laws, Second Amendment issues, and hatred, I feel like I'm always falling short of making my point.  You know, because my point is important.  ;-)

 

So, I'll try once again.  I get that in our current state of consciousness, things like borders, gun ownership, hatred, bigotry, misunderstanding, and war are all part of our world view.  I ache for the people that were killed in Orlando.......or Libya, or Iraq, or wherever.  And I wouldn't dream of denying someone their right to own a gun in America.  In fact, I wouldn't deny anyone's right to almost anything.  You want to wage war, wield a gun, hate Gays, Blacks, Christians or Muslims, go right ahead.  It's your right.  It makes you ignorant, in my opinion, but it's your right nonetheless and you're the one that has to live with yourself.  

 

Here's where I get stuck explaining myself.  I'm completely anti-war.  Having said that, I get that in our current human state, we feel it's necessary to protect "our" interests.  And speaking of "ours," I'm also anti-border.  I'm not anti-American, but our ignorance is pushing me to the brink.  That said, I get that under our current human state, borders are necessary economically and politically, and they make us feel safer.  Look, I was the first to jump on the bandwagon for hunting down the ruthless terrorists after 9/11.  But really, what have we accomplished since then?  Not much more than adding to an already ridiculous death toll.  I have no idea how many innocent civilians have been killed while we wage revenge.

 

What it really boils down to for me is metaphysics, and while at least one of you will call me a dope-smoking hippie, even Jesus himself got this concept.  We do reap what we sow.  But it's not what you think.  What really causes all this war, killing, and hatred is a lack of understanding.  A lack of tolerance.  And if you want to keep feeding the war machine, or keep feeling the need to have a gun, then by all means buy one.  Metaphysically, that sends the message you'll need it.  Somewhere, someone, somehow, has to set an example by saying, "You know what?  I'll put down my gun.  I want to sit down at the table and talk to you.  Do you feel cheated?  Do you feel like our foreign policy is unfair?  Are you scared of gay people or black people?  Do you think an immigrant is going to take your job?  Ok, I get it.  But I think we can work that out.  Let's do it without violence of any kind."

 

It's not an easy issue for me.  But I remember every day that I'm American strictly by virtue of the fact I was born here.  Every Iraqi or Iranian or Mexican or whatever is what they are for the same reason.  It's ignorant and short-sighted to think we all somehow want something different.  My guess is every person in every nation, be they white, black, gay, muslim, jew, ad infinitum, just wants to be understood and wants what's best for their families.  Do you think all Muslims want to kill Americans?  Even if that were true, which it isn't, you have to ask yourself why.  Could it be we're selfish and just won't listen?

 

Close your Bible, your Quran, or whatever other book it is that you feel justifies your hate in the name of your deity, and open your heart.  And while I get that we're basically mammals with a biological need for survival, I don't think we have to kill each other to accomplish that.  In fact, I believe quite the opposite.  If we don't all come to the table and begin understanding our fears, we won't last long enough as a species for it to matter.

I'm not against you owning a gun.  I just want a world where the need for guns doesn't exist.  And how does that happen?

Someone has to put theirs down first.

 

 

 

 

 

More Faces of Fear - Off the Chain

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”
― Plato

Various sources from a simple Google search confirm the current count of transgendered individuals at roughly 700,000.  That's also somewhere between 0.2 and 0.5 percent of the total U.S. population.  It's not many.  So why the giant uproar about transgendered restrooms?  Why is it even a topic that's considered newsworthy?   I'll tell you why.  It breeds fear and hatred and it diverts your attention from more important things. 

So, if you happen to be one of those people gripped in fear, or worse yet, hatred, because your son or daughter might be subjected to someone with a gender identity "issue," I want you to help me clarify some things.  You know.  I want to try and see things from your perspective for a moment.  After all, I have two daughters.

To be clear, you don't fear the loss of soldiers every day in a war we can't win.  You're not apprehensive about the trillions of dollars we've spent on said war.  But you're afraid you daughter might be molested by someone transgendered in a public restroom at Target?

You don't feel anxiety about the millions of starving children all over the planet, many of them right here in the United States.  It doesn't concern you that multi-million dollar megachurches run by pastors that live in multi-million dollar homes exist while these children are without food and clean water.  But you think your child might peek under the stall and see the "wrong" genitalia?

Our planet is starving, being raped, stripped, littered, and destroyed.  And, in fact, our climate IS warming, regardless of what you believe causes it.  That's not an issue for you?  Oh, but a male who identifies as a female who MIGHT be in Target's bathroom has you scared to death?

How about our political system?  The presidential election and how delegates are assigned is rigged, bought and paid for.  Your primary vote carries virtually no weight.  And even if it weren't rigged, these are the candidates we have to choose from?  After eight years for both parties to prepare, this is what they've given us?  It doesn't bother you?  It's of no concern that the media tells you how to think by telling you Bernie is a communist or Hillary is a liar or Trump is an idiot?  There may be a hint of truth to every allegation, but all of it?  Not a chance.  And you don't care?  You don't care that you're yet to think and investigate for yourself, but you think your child is in danger of being fondled by a transgender individual in a restroom?

Please, help me understand.  Because the arguable fact is, you've probably already stood next to a transgendered person in a bathroom, passed one on the street or sat next to one at a restaurant.  Maybe not.  But probably.  Did they bother you?  And if you take the time to compare the number of transgendered people in your neighborhood to the number of registered sex offenders, you'd be amazed to find out the latter far outweigh the former.  I actually did a sex offender search in my own neighborhood some ten years ago, and there were over 500 in a one mile radius!!  That's what ought to scare you.

At the end of the day, whether you believe a person who identifies as transgender has a psychological issue or not, they just want to be accepted.......just like you.  It's not as if you or I are without issues of our own.  Judge not, lest ye be judged, right?  And at the end of the day, if you're still terrified that someone sporting both a skirt and a penis is going to somehow scar your child for life, or if you think Target is home to the Antichrist (Its genius marketing, you know), you can still do what I always did.........

Don't let them go to the bathroom alone.

  

All You Need Is Love

"It just feels good to have someone's arm around me for a minute."

~ Donna ~

"I love my cats, but they just aren't doing it for me anymore."

~ Me ~

I recently took a trip to Arizona to see a friend of mine and get away for awhile.  As many of you may (or may not) know, Arizona is a kind of spiritual epicenter, if you will.  And as much as I resisted going, even after being on the road for a day, I knew I needed to go.  I needed some time of reflection.  I needed some answers to some burning questions.  I needed to surround myself with people who think like I do.  And although I did, indeed, get some clear answers to a couple things, I came home with more questions than when I left.  I may have actually come home with a damaged liver, but that's a story for another time.

My first real night in Arizona, I joined a group of people from my friend's circle and we all went dancing.  I hadn't been dancing in years!!  It was great fun, we drew a few stares as we demonstrated what a real two-step is, and as it turns out, the most profound thing I was to hear all week came from the mouth of one of the dearest ladies I've ever met, as we did a little two-stepping.  You see it in the first quote:  "It just feels good to have someone's arm around me for a minute."

I'm sure it went unrecognized, but that little, innocent statement hit me like a freight train.  There was no sexual undertone.  There was no preconceived idea of what reaction the comment might bring.  It was simply the honest reaction of a person who pretty much only wants what we all want.  We just want to be loved.  It melted me.

I've been single for quite some time now; happily single, I might add.  I love my simple one-bedroom apartment and all the "freedom" that goes with it, but lately, I have this nagging feeling something is missing.  

Although many would be surprised to know it, I actually lead a pretty solitary life.  I bond and banter with the guys (and sometimes gals) at the fire station for twenty-four hours at a time, and then I go home to two cats and my quiet apartment.  And yes, I'm very blessed.  I have two amazing daughters.  I have a good job, and a nice truck to drive.  I have a successful "hobby" in photography, two books being published this summer, at least three more children's books ready to write, and at least one person that wants me to ghost write for them.  Heck, I even drive for Uber!!  Life is great, whether I feel like it is or not.

It first started coming to me when I signed the contract for my books this year.  The day I signed that contract was arguably the most exciting day of my life (excluding the birth of my children, of course).  I came home from that trip and watched TV.  It was then it began to sink in how much I miss someone to share everyday life with.  I began to miss having someone share their life with mine.  

Sure, I love myself and all that.  I don't feel incomplete or like I need someone to complete me.  For the first time in a long time, I just feel an element is missing.  I want it, and life is passing by in a blur. 

I've had my share of love and heartache in my life.  Hell, we all have.  I'm not special in that regard.  And I'm finally beginning to learn, perhaps, what it's actually like to love someone without conditions.  It's difficult sometimes, but it's not complicated.  Love doesn't need to be.  It's about communicating, and sharing, and being transparent, and growing, and just being.  But I think in the end, what it might really be about is just having someone's arm around you just for a minute, whether that be physically or emotionally.  It just feels good.

So, thank you, Donna, for that gentle reminder that, at the end of the day, it really does feel good to have someone's arm around you, even if only for a moment.  And wouldn't our world be so much happier if we'd just do that for someone once in awhile?  Lend and ear?  Give a hug?   It's not so hard.   

We can work hard for big, pretty things like homes, cars, and vacations.  We can strive to achieve great goals and take pride in things like, oh, publishing a book.  But at the end of the day, I'd give it all for that special someone to put their arm around me and tell me about their day and ask me about mine.  Because, truly.........

Love is all you need.

   

JUST ONE THING

"If you could tell your great-great grandchild,  just ONE thing, what would it be?"

~ Kathy Rogers ~

It was a dark and stormy night.  No. No.  It was a cloudy, warm day in Southwest Texas on a return trip from Big Bend National Park when Kathy sprung this question on me.  ONE thing?  Just ONE?

While a seemingly harmless question, it actually gave me immediate butterflies.  I felt under pressure to come up with one simple thing to tell my great-great grandchildren.  At 54, I should have one piece of timeless advice all ready to pass along to the next generation....and the next....and the next.  I have experienced a lot of amazing things, after all.  Some good.  Some bad.

So a question I had no immediate answer for began to haunt me for a week or more.  And yes, it actually woke me up at night a couple times.  ONE thing?  I thought of many, many things I would want to say.  But it took over a week to finally arrive at that ONE thing.  Almost sounds like something Curly would tell Mitch. 

So I thought of many.  And many of those I've already forgotten.  Indeed, many of these are those just about any older person would pass down to a younger one.  So stick with me and we'll get to that ONE thing.

Be happy.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Connect with nature.

Life is just life.  Don't take yourself too seriously.

Take risks.

Meditate.

Find a way to serve others.

Be true to yourself.

BE yourself.

Be adventurous.

Embrace failure.  It means you tried.

Life is precious.  All life.  Don't kill things.

Follow your heart.

Draw your own conclusions.....about EVERYTHING!

Live in childlike wonder, especially in adulthood.

Change your major.

Change direction.

Change your mind.

Stand for something.

Engage in some form of labor that makes you sweat every once in a while.

Eat healthy

Eat unhealthy.

Work out.

Don't work out.

Stop worrying.  It solves nothing.

Be a problem solver.

See the world.

Explore.

Catch a snowflake on your tongue.

Hold a bird.

Be quiet.

Raise hell.

Do it all.

See it all.

As you can obviously see, this list could be infinite based on one's experience.  And trust me when I tell you, I abbreviated the list.  None of those things are the ONE thing and the list was simply to make a point.  Life is meant to be lived.

A few years ago I went through one of those particularly tough spots emotionally.  It was rooted in a relationship..... or a failed one.  Nothing earth shattering.  We all have them.  That's life.  It is.  For some reason this struck me harder than some and I felt lost for quite some time.  I did lots of things to occupy my mind and attempt a different perspective.  And for reasons I don't now recall, I was led to a place that practiced Za Zen meditation.  Let me be clear.  I no longer practice quiet meditation like I should.  In fact, it's been awhile.  But the lessons I learned from my few months at this place have stuck..... at least when I remember to practice them.

I'll simplify this a great deal by saying that Za Zen meditation is completely about "the breath."  The hours I spent in total silence, surrounded by others, was simply about counting the breaths I took.  I didn't close my eyes.  I picked a focal point, attempted to quiet my mind, and counted.  You know what?  I never made it to 10.  Not once.  I made it to 8 a couple times.  Then I'd start over.  It went something like this (in my head).

"Exhale......1.  Deep breath.  Exhale........2  Oh shit, I forgot to scoop the litter box!!  My car is gonna need tires and I forgot to call my brother......where was I?  Oh yes.  Exhale.......1.  Deep breath.  Exhale.......2  I wonder if I turned the air conditioner on.  What is the square root of 25,347.756?"

And so on, and so on, and so on.  I kept practicing.  I kept going and I kept trying.  I practiced at home 30 minutes at a time, and I practiced at the temple 90 minutes at a time.  My only job was to count 10 breaths. I never did it.  The mind is a very busy place.   You know what?  It doesn't matter that I didn't make it.  For little microbursts I focused on the one thing in life that really matters.  Because without it, there IS nothing else.  You only have this one.  You may not have another.  I try to live in the moment, but fail at it miserably.  And yes, I CAN live in the moment one breath at a time when I stay quiet enough to listen and count.  That's all there is.  That is ALL there is.  Nothing else matters without this breath.  

All the working and fretting and worrying and trying and struggling and rejoicing, are all really just an exercise we learn because we somehow think we're less than whole.  We're not.  You, me.... everyone...is complete, just the way we are.  We're all doing our best.  

As I write this, I picture my daughters, my  grandchildren, my great grandchildren and my great-great grandchildren all kneeling beside me as I start my transition to whatever is next.  They all look at me, teary-eyed and ask,  "What can you tell us?  How will we go on?"

"It's simple my dears.  It's the simplest of things and the root of all things.  All life's mysteries are solved if you continue to do just one thing."

Breathe.

   

A CLIMATE OF CHANGE

"The only thing that is constant is change."

~ Hiraclitus ~

You may think this entry is going to be about change.  And you're right..... sort of.  But to "change" things up on you a bit, this is really more about thinking.  Or thinking about change.  Or more importantly, changing how you think.  To be even more succinct, think for yourself!

When I was a kid, my dad taught me lots of stuff.  And as it turns out, some of it was useful.  But a pretty high percentage of it simply wasn't true.  "The world will be ruled by a small race of yellow people.  Says so in the Bible."  Turns out that's more Masonic than biblical.  He told me I was part Cherokee Indian.  Not true.  I'm French and English.  But that's not really the point.

"So what IS your point?" you might ask.  The point is, as I got older, I started learning things for myself.  I started to question the status quo.  I listened less to "experts" who may or may not have an agenda and started digging for myself.  It changed how I view religion, politics, people, and our environment.  It "changed" everything.  It turned a world of black and white in to a world of beautiful grays.  There's more than one side to EVERY story and there is more than one answer to EVERY question.  Truth?  Well, that's for another time. 

Let's talk about some examples:

GLOBAL WARMING, AKA CLIMATE CHANGE:

This is a fairly popular topic these days, wouldn't you say?  And it certainly is an important one.  Tree-hugging, socially liberal, environmentalists (of which I am proudly a member) are screaming from the rooftops that our climate is warming and we're all going to die.  Conservative, gun-toting,  NON-enviromentalists are screaming that global warming is a hoax created by those that, blah blah blah blah blah blahbiddy blah blah.  You know the story.

Here is what I know as fact.  The climate is changing.  In fact, the climate is warming.  And how do I know that?  I didn't learn it from Al Gore.  I know it for fact because geological science proves a glacier covered most of North America as little as 10,000 years ago.  Where'd all that ice go?  It melted.  Duh.  Climate is cyclical.  It changes.  As soon as it gets really hot, it'll start down the path to a new Ice Age.  The earth is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.  But fear not, you and I won't be around to see it.

What bothers me about the whole debate, is that it's all centered around who is right and whether or not we can actually change it.  We can't.  Be serious.  And even if we could, we won't.  Humans are too lazy.  If you think you can get nearly a billion people, just in the U.S. alone, to suddenly give up electricity and cars, and practically any other modern convenience for the sake of reducing carbon emissions, well, then you really haven't been paying attention have you?  Do people have an impact on our environment?  Of course we do.  So do cow farts.  Should we abandon caring and just keep poisoning our home?  Of course not.  That's completely disrespectful.  

But believe me when I tell you, whether we make changes or not, the earth will survive our stupidity. Mankind may not.  (Ok, lets face it, WILL not).  But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be faithful stewards of the planet where we live.  It always surprises me that people somehow continue to believe that mankind will somehow live on forever.  The dinosaurs didn't.  Thousands of species big and small become extinct every day.  You really think we're excluded?  Not a chance.  It's not if.  It's when. 

POLITICS:

I actually considered dividing this in to several subcategories.  But you're smart.  I think I can make my point by summing it all up in one big ball of political goo.  You know, like the politicians do.

Politics is a poisoned stream of extremism.  Democrats think one way.  Republicans think another way.  And no one meets in the middle.  Or do they?  First of all, the Founding Fathers set it up that way.  Far-sided extremism keeps things in the middle, and that's not really a bad thing.  What we have to be mindful of, is the fact that neither side is completely right about anything.  They are both at least partly wrong 100% of the time.  I think Rush Limbaugh is an idiot, but he's an idiot with a business plan that works quite well for him.  I don't really know if Obama is a "good" president or "bad."  History will tell that story, and it'll be a fabrication also.  But I can tell you this.  Obama isn't some soldier-hating, socialist any more than a Republican is a war-mongering, terrorist.  Don't you see?  BOTH sides play that game and it absolutely makes NO difference who the president is.  Know why?

It makes no difference because 1) he's not really running things and 2) you didn't really elect him.  Your vote counts at the school board.  "Voting is a privilege of the free" is nothing more than smoke and mirrors to make you think you have something to do with the national political process.  You don't.  How do I know?  Because I read between the lines occasionally.  

For starters, our president isn't even elected by popular vote.  Theoretically, (and I know this is a stretch), a vast majority of our population could vote for one person or the other, and he'd still lose because of the distribution of the votes.  Large populous states carry more weight.  You know the process.  And secondly, the dream of a kid growing up to be president without very strong business and political connections is long gone.  Every candidate you see is put there by people that WANT him/her there.  Your vote doesn't matter.  Not at that level, it doesn't.

So how about the extreme info about this congressman or that senator voting against this bill or for that bill, or whatever.  I, too, have gasped that someone might vote against military benefits or feeding the hungry, etc.  But look deeper.  These bills are sometimes hundreds or thousands of pages long.  In political maneuvering, "riders" are attached to bills. Joe needs his military spending bill passed, but Martha won't vote for it in committee unless she can attach her homeless shelter agenda, etc etc etc.  So when you hear someone has voted for or against something that looks important, dig deeper.  It could be they just couldn't swallow the whole pill.  Think.

So how do we fix this political mess?  Well, we can't.  Or again, we won't.  Until nearly a billion people (I know, same analogy) are willing to stand up to corporations like Walmart and GM and Monsanto, and whoever.... level the playing field and take things back, you're "pissing up a rope."  It won't happen unless we try.  And the big boys aren't gonna let you try without a fight.  It's the things revolutions are made of.  Humans are lazy.  It might change, but it won't.  My life didn't change under Bush OR Obama.  It won't change under the next one either.

EBOLA:

I realize this topic is more specific than general, but I hope to drive home my point one last time with an event in America that just made me laugh.  Don't get me wrong.  Ebola is a serious illness.  So is the flu, AIDS, malaria, etc.  I want you to think about the information we received via our local and national news.  These were the very first cases of Ebola in the U.S.  An epidemic was at large, and we needed to act fast.  And we did.  Disaster averted.  Or was it?

I want you to think about this veeeeeery carefully.  This isn't based on fact.  It's based on common sense.  Ebola has been an identifiable virus since the 1970's.  Americans, be they doctors, nurses, missionaries, or Peace Corp volunteers, have been traveling to Africa and treating this virus that entire time.  Oh, AND they've returned to the United States.  Do you honestly think, (for the love of God, tell me you don't think this), these were the first cases of Ebola in America?  Of course they weren't.  Think, people.  Think.

RELIGION:

OK, I'm not even going to TOUCH this topic until you've at least read the manual that your religion is based on.  If you're a war-mongering, gun-toting, "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" kinda person, and consider yourself Christian (or Muslim, or Buddhist, or whatever), then you've clearly not read the book that spells it out for you and you've just showed up to a gun fight with a knife.  Read it, and then we'll talk.  

This is undoubtedly my longest blog ever.  I needed to vomit.  All I'm really asking is that you take your life, your thoughts, and your beliefs into your own hands.  Stop believing everything you hear, see, or read.  Question everything.  Ask questions.  Hold people's feet to the fire.  I know it won't change.  But it could.  And how can I be so bold as to think you need to question everything?  Because I'm a photographer.......

......And you can turn a slice of pizza in to a blonde supermodel in a red bikini.

PRESS 1 FOR HUMAN

"It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences."

      ~ Audre Lorde ~

I see signs like the ones you see above almost every day.  I see them on social media, billboards, websites, etc.  I hear it at the fire station or from the person down the street.  Well, I gotta tell you, I'm tired of it.  If your only problem is that you have to press 1 for English, then you certainly have first world problems, indeed.  Millions of people on this planet are starving.  They don't have enough to eat.  They don't have fresh water, or modern sewage systems.  And what food they DO have is suspect in quality.  In fact, often the donations you make to feed the hungry are actually stolen by the government of the starving nation.  Press 1 for English.  You fuckin' kidding me?

For those of you that adhere to this short-sighted, selfish, asinine, philosophy, let me share a bit of a history lesson with you.  You're standing on stolen soil.  Had you forgotten?  Oh right, "America" wasn't ours to begin with.  And once we stole it, we "won" our independence from England, the country we CAME from!!  

You want to know why you and I are Americans and speak English?  Well, I'll tell you.  We got lucky.  We just happened to be born here and it just so happens that's the language most people speak here.  You're an english-speaking, Christian (or not), American because HERE is where you were born and THIS is what your parents taught you. Here's a surprise.  If you'd been born in Mexico, you'd speak Spanish.  China? Mandarin.  Iraq?  Farsi or something like it.  You live where you live, speak the language you speak, and follow the religion of your choice, simply. because. this. is. where. you. were. born.

When exactly did we lose sight of the Land of the Free and become the Land of "Fuck you! It's mine and you can't have it!!!"?  Seriously.  When?  Oh, and you're ok with immigrants as long as they show up legally like your great-grandfather?  Your great-grandfather stepped off a boat, signed a paper, and got an inoculation.  It's hardly that simple today.  And if you think you wouldn't swim a river in the middle of the night to make a better life for your family, then you're either lying or you're a weasel.  Get serious. 

Tell me.  Please tell me.  Exactly what difference does it make what language we speak?  Who cares?  You're using language as just one more barrier to helping us come together as humans.  YOUR country, MY country.   MY state, YOUR state.  YOUR language, MY language.... skin, religion, ad infinitum.

Oh wait, but you're concerned many of our "illegal" immigrants are terrorists or drug dealers?  That just makes me laugh.  A FRACTION!  A fraaaaaaaction of the dealers, thieves, murderers, and terrorists we have here already.  You must mean you don't want any more.  And don't even get me started on the taxes they don't pay or the jobs they steal.  Stop listening to the hype on CNN.  Pull your head out of your ass and think for yourself.

So while we're trying to think for ourselves, lets address terrorism.  I'm completely against it.... from ANY place on the planet and that includes the good ole USA.  You think other parts of the world don't see our military actions in the name of freedom acts of terror?  Gee, that's funny.  That's exactly what "terrorist" states are doing.  Their military actions in the name of (place your cause here) are seen as terror.  Ours are seen as "defending freedom."  You know how many innocent civilians are killed by all these terrorist acts?  Not nearly as many as we've killed in the name of freedom.  We've even increased the death toll from 911 from around 3,000 to tens of thousands.  

Look, can't we be civil?  Can't we be humans?  Not far in the future, perhaps even in our lifetime, water is going to be a serious issue.  You think oil is a problem?  Wait until we start killing each other over having enough to drink.  You won't care if there's enough gas to get to the store for food.  You'll be defending your home from terrorists who want your water.  I'd love to think we'd share, but I'm losing hope.

I would LOVE to get into Climate Change, the whole "Democrat vs Republican", the smoke and mirrors of our Republic, etc., but now that you're thinking for yourself, maybe you'll figure it out.  One can only hope.  This isn't OUR country.  It's OUR planet, and we'd better start acting like it and work together or there won't be people to wage war on each other.  Maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Press 1 for English?  You bet your ass.  I'm happy to do it.  

Welcome to America.