Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

Are we our brothers’ keeper?  There is a struggle in Washington DC:  the President wants to raise the ceiling of the National debt we are allowed legally to have.  Our country may default on our interest payments for the first time.  And who knows what international effect that would have on our economy if that happens.

Our economy is really on shaky grounds.  Many people are suffering in this country, have lost their homes, are unemployed and struggling just to put food on the table for their families.  And the rich seem to get richer.

One party wants the President to cut programs like Medicare and others.  The struggles between the major parties are very acrimonious.  The Republicans have not forgotten how the President “rammed” through his bill to provide health coverage to millions of other Americans when he had control of both houses.  I am not going to debate the merits of that bill.

One little fact came to the ”surface”:  the US is near the bottom of developed countries as far as the tax rate its citizens pay.  Taxes need to go up and services to the most unfortunate, the ill, the handicapped need to be maintained.  Again, I have to ask:  Are we our brothers’ keeper?

I was amazed how high the percentage is of Americans who do not pay any federal income tax.  It is very high but the rich ought to pay more–a greater percentage than they do.  Those companies with “deep pockets” do not want that to happen and also want to erase laws that prevent them from polluting the water, air, etc.

Raising taxes now in this economic climate is not very popular.  And frankly there is much I do not understand when it comes to the economy but I have to ask again:  Are we our brothers’ keeper?  I do not like the Republicans’ stance.  I am not sure I like the Democrats much better.  Too much of government is run by big business.

Each of us are commanded to help the less fortunate.  I don’t care what your circumstances are.  There is someone around you that needs your help.

You don’t need big government necessarily to help fellow men but one function of government is to protect you and taking money away (and support) from the poorest and making sure the rich get richer does not seem right.  Again I ask the question:  Are we our brothers’ keeper?

Tags: America, big business, Democrat, economy, fellow men, God, government, health coverage, help the less fortunate, income tax, Medicare, National debt, our brothers' keeper, our country, people are suffering, pollution, poor, president, raising taxes, Republican, rich companies, rich get richer, tax rate, USA, Washington DC
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One bar of soap.  Does not seem much.  There is such a schism between the rich countries and Haiti, who is having a cholera epidemic because most people can’t afford one bar of soap to wash themselves after they go to the bathroom.

Our church is collecting wrapped bars of soap to be sent as part of a kit to Haiti.  Haiti is one of the poorest countries of the world and there are still hundreds of thousands of people living in camps after an earthquake devastated their country maybe a year ago.

They have been out of the news but their poverty has not left them and they have not recovered from the earthquake.  And now cholera is sweeping through their midst.

And something as little as one bar of soap can slow down the spread of that disease.  It gives you some food for thought.  No American gives any thought to buying a bar of soap.  Yet it is a luxury there.

Tags: American, bar of soap, cholera, earthquake, go to the bathroom, Haiti, living in camps, luxury, our church, poor countries, poverty, rich countries, washing
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Some people have more, some people less.  It has been that way from the beginning of time.  Poverty has always existed.  You can’t even measure wealth in dollars signs.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, once the richest man in the world, wants a legacy other than his material wealth so he and his wife started a foundation to see how they could impact the world.

Another misconception of wealth is it refers just to material wealth. Each of us has gifts and a personal sphere we can influence by utilizing and giving away our time.

Russia found out their large socialistic farms were unprofitable.  We kept selling our surplus of wheat to them.  Others need to have a personal stake in their success (or failure).

The world has always been that way.  Some people have always had more and some less.  The poor have always been with us.  Maybe, that is why God has commanded us to give to the less unfortunate (???).

He also says when it is in your power to give something to someone and you don’t, it is a sin.  Giving does not always refer to material wealth.  It is also giving of your time and gifts freely.

Maybe God created the world so each person would be dependent on the other.  We are commanded to help each other.  We need to reach out to the people in need within our circle.

Unfortunately money insulates us giving us the idea we don’t need God and others.  And that is the furthest from the truth.  We are interdependent:  we need each other.

Tags: Bill Gates, dependent, giving, giving of your time and gifts freely, giving our time, God, help each other, material wealth, poor always with us, poverty, reach out to people, richest man in the world, Russia, sin, we need each other, wealth, wisdom
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If you do not act on your deepest beliefs, you do not have integrity. Your personality is split. Integrity comes from the Latin integer, which means one.

A person who has integrity is the same in the inside as well as he/she portrays on the outside. Too many politicians are overly concerned with appearance and not enough with character.

Too much faith is given in polls and not enough on the issues that are important to you (and the people) for the office you are running for.

No one wants to vote for a phony. Integrity matters. It still does. That has not changed. It always matters.

Tags: character, integrity, Latin integer means one, overly concerned with appearance, phony, politicians, vote, your deepest beliefs, your personality
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Can you separate religion and morality from politics? I don’t think so. Every action a politician makes or thinks about reflects some kind of value. You have to be driven by something.

Nothing you do or say is (???) can be done in a vacuum so trying to say you can is impossible. There are politics in every sphere of life—government, the church, the family and education.

It is impossible to say you can do something without reflecting some kind of value so telling a politician you have to separate religion and your deepest values from the actions you make or say is impossible.

Religion and morality can not be separated they are intertwined in a person’s character. No one acts in a void.

Tags: education, family, government, morality, no one acts in a void, politician, politics, politics in every sphere of life, religion, religion and morality, the church, your actions, your values
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A snow storm was coming.  The waitress said, “I don’t care, I don’t work tomorrow, let it snow.”

I overheard another say, that later the snow will be heavy–a few inches an hour.

The person I was sitting next to said, ‘Lancaster will get it worse.’

There were all kind of rumors floating about the oncoming storm.

I heard an fragment of a conversation regarding the policy of gays in the military, “If it is not broke don’t fix it.”  And then, ‘If someone comes out, they will be killed.’

All this while I was enjoying my bottomless cup of coffee.

On the way home I briefly stopped at the shore of the Susquehanna River, as I often do after I stop at the diner, quickly glanced at the River’s surface, which seemed pretty calm.  There was no indication a storm was set to arrive in a few hours.

I saw someone must have  launched a boat in the River.  A truck was parked there.  It must have been a die hard fisherman.  It was bitterly cold and the middle of winter.  I shrugged my shoulders.  I finally went home.

Tags: cold weather, cup of coffee, fisherman, fishing, fishing boat, gays in military, Lancaster, local diner, snowstorm, Susquehanna River, truck, waitress, winter
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I know I can’t be liked by everyone.  It really is impossible.  In fact, I found out often the people I dislike the feeling is often mutual.  I am who I am.  I know that.

If you insist everyone like you, you please no one.  It is really out of your control.  If you try to please everyone, you sway with every change of the wind and get viewed as a pansy.

Presidents know that very well.  All of them find out no matter what they do someone will not be happy with them.  And the best ones accept that.

I do not deliberately try to alienate any one.  Of course, you do not like it when your mate does not like something you do.  Although likes and dislikes come and go.  That is why commitment is so important.  It enables you to ride out the rough periods.

I did find that even if I initially dislike a fellow worker given enough time I usually end up liking the person.  But it takes time.  Maybe that is why your initial impression of someone has to be tempered with time.

You never know when your impression of someone will change.  Nevertheless you can’t be liked by every person.  And you just have to accept that.  There is no way to get around that.  So enjoy your friends.  They picked you.

Tags: can't be liked by everyone, commitment, dislike, enjoy your friends, fellow worker, initial impression of someone, likes and dislikes, please no one, president, tempered with time, time, your mate
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I do not believe communication is better because you can do it almost instantaneously.  Communication is as hard as ever.  There are more wars going on in this world as ever.

Sure with the internet a message can be sent around the world in seconds.  So what!  It is just quicker to make mistakes in judgment.  Cell phones keep getting more sophisticated.  The saturation time has not changed.  You can absorb data no quicker.

Everywhere you go others can be seen with cell phones attached to their ears as if they grew there.  They really are a great distraction– one of many today.

True communication is always better face to face.  And it takes time.  And effort and the ability to listen to each other carefully and well.  None of that is any easier.

Maybe, even harder.  There is the delusion true communication is occurring.  It is as hard as ever.  That has not changed at all in this world of almost instantaneous communication.

Tags: ability to listen to each other, absorb data, cell phones, cell phones a distraction, communication, communication is hard, face-to-face communication, instant communication, internet, phones attached to ears, quicker to make mistakes, wars in this world
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September 6, 2009 Mary Travers (of Peter, Paul & Mary fame) died.  I just wanted to give a short tribute to the folk and pop group.

They possessed a rare combination of voices.  Mary had the big voice.  I had a friend tell me she used to sing away from the microphone.  Even today, fifty-eight years after the release of their first album, I still can listen to their music and it does not seem dated.

Just about all their recorded material is available on CD.  I still have their original LP’s.  And still play them.  Although the best ones were transferred to cassette a long time ago.

Their anti-war anthems still ring true and more than ever.  “The Great Mandella” was one of the greatest anti-war songs I ever heard stating the dilemma of war and protest.

Many songs were Dylan songs.  Of course everyone has heard Dylan’s “Blowing In The Wind” arguably his best song but that was just one of his they sang.  And there were others.  They do the best version I ever heard of his “Too Much Of Nothing.”

They had immaculate taste in their choice of material and were perfectionists yet sang with fire and passion.

Their best songs still have an element of timelessness.  More relevant than ever in an era where currently the US and other countries are embroiled in wars all over the world.

Their voices harmonized beautifully and almost never came across mannered.  And they took turns singing lead.  All of them wrote songs but most of the time they chose to interpret other peoples material, often making it their own.  You can never mistake their harmonies.  They did it so well.

Tags: "Blowing In The Wind", "The Great Mandella", "Too Much Of Nothing", anti-war anthem, best songs, Bob Dylan, cassette, CD, folk music, LP, Mary Travers, Mary Travers death, Peter Paul and Mary, pop music, record album, sing harmony, sing lead, singing, timeless, war, war and protest, write songs
Posted in art, balance, beauty, death, God, knowledge&learning, life, music, politics, relationships, seasons, time, wisdom, writing | No Comments »

Our Postmaster, Sonya, lends an ear to everyone in our small town of less than a thousand.  Everyone has to get their mail or buy stamps.

She hears every body’s stories.  She knows who is ill, most people by their first name and even where they live.

She is the local “psychiatrist” although she does not dispense too much advice or any pills.  When someone is dying, she hears about it from the nearby relative.

Sonya lives nearby and given enough time she meets just about every resident unless you are a hermit and never leave your house.  Every person need stamps or eventually has to weigh a package.

The post office is the focal point of this town.  There is the local diner where all the old fogies congregate every morning and share the latest gossip.  The diner (and our supermarket) are only a distant second place to meet locals.

Sonya has the pulse of our small town.  There is very little she does not know about its residents.  She is usually very discreet about the gossip she hears every day.

The postmaster of our small town knows almost everything about almost every body.  She just has to know when to shut up.  Sometimes that is hard for her to do but most of the time she does a good job.  Everyone knows Sonya.

Tags: buy stamps, hermit, latest gossip, lend an ear, local diner, local psychiatrist, mail, old fogies, post office, postmaster, small town, stamps, weigh a package
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I don’t understand hate but what I do know love, forgiveness and kindness would transform this earth if it was practiced by everyone.  I know it is not an easy formula for peace.

Humans (including myself) are very flawed.  It does not matter what you do for a living.  Some may be impressed by that but what most people remember is how you treated them.  If it was with love and kindness, they may remember that for a long time.

Forgiveness is in the equation because humans make mistakes with one another and hurt one another.  It does not matter if it was intentional or not.  It just happens.

And forgiveness give us a “clean slate” and lets us start afresh with one another.  And forgiveness has a price.  It is not easy.

I read in a book all God asks of us is to forgive each other.  Wouldn’t that transform the world if everyone did that?

And this starts in the most basic social unit–the family.  And then make wider circles:  your neighbors, your state, your country.  And it has to start in the family first.

Tags: clean slate, forgive each other, forgiveness, God, how you treat people, hurt each other, kindness, love, neighbor, peace on earth, social unit, start afresh, the family, transform the earth, we are flawed, we make mistakes
Posted in balance, beauty, God, health, knowledge&learning, life, local, love, marriage, mental health, politics, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »

Is Health Care a right?  Should everyone have access to health care?  I find it interesting of all the discussions and debating going on in our Congress no one is saying that companies covering health care should stop making billions of dollars of profit.

I have read of all the countries mandating health care for everyone not one is allowing companies to make a profit providing health insurance.  Is health care a right or is it a privilege only some should have?  If it is a right, then we have to stop the obscene profit other companies are making in this country providing health insurance.

And I find it interesting there is no talk about that?!

Tags: Congress, God, health care, health care privilege, health care right, health insurance companies, insurance company profit, mandate health care, other countries health care
Posted in children, God, health, knowledge&learning, life, mental health, money, politics, time | No Comments »