Peace of Mind

My Saturn Vue is OnStar equipped, and I pay the $200 plus a year for the basic service. It gives me monthly updates about the functioning of the systems in my car, oil life history, and I know if I ever have an emergency I can push a button and talk to someone. I have only used it a few times, but what a relief, when I need it. 

Recently, the tire pressure gauge indicator light mal-functioned.  It indicated low tire pressure, and when I went to have the tires check, they were actually over-inflated.   OnStar told me the tire pressure gauge of the front passenger side tire was malfunctioning. I decided I wanted to spend the money to get it repaired.  One time, I got into my car in the morning, and the tire pressure indicator light was on. I went down the street to get air in the tire, without realizing the tire was almost totally deflated If the indicator light had not been on, I would not have realized the problem. 

I am willing to pay for peace of mind.  

Violence

Our world has become increasingly violent.  More terrorism, more domestic violence, more random violence, more police on citizen violence, and more citizen on police violence.

I am not sure what the genesis of this violence is.  Not religion. Religion does not advocate violence.

The frustration of powerlessness? The overweening need for power and control? Greed? Fanaticism?  The increased use of drugs and alcohol that lower inhibitions? The need for that fame or notoriety that comes with committing these violent acts? The increased availability of weapons?  Disaffection and disenfranchisement that leads to radicalization? 

Our country went through horrific violence in the 1960s and 1970s due to the protests against the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement. Things settled down but since 2001, violence has increased.  The big thing that we need to remember is that "It's a Small World" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Small_World; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJFGAX77zw4. 

We have choices to make.  I choose hope, I chose being positive. I choose peace. 

My Brain Has Been Busy

So, for the last many weeks, my brain has been very, very busy. Overwhelmed. Too occupied. 

I have not done much writing, because my brain has been so overwhelmed, I cannot think to write.

I really understand why serious authors need to escape to places where they have silence and peace so they can write.

The Confederate Flag Controversy

The shooting of 9 black people at Emanuel AME Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_church_shooting last week has awoken a controversy about the Confederate Flag "Stars and Bars" flying at the Capitol in South Carolina. The history of the flag and its use at the state capitol in South Carolina is well documented by NPR http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/06/22/416548613/the-complicated-political-history-of-the-confederate-flag.  Gov. Nikki Haley has changed her mind about removing the flag from the Capitol http://www.salon.com/2014/10/15/nikki_haley_its_ok_to_have_the
_confederate_flag_at_the_statehouse_because_not_a_single_ceo_has_complained/.

The symbolism of the flag is conflicting:  some see it as a symbol of history, heritage, ancestry and pride.  Many see it a symbol of hatred, racism, segregation, and discrimination. I saw a post on Facebook by someone who said he saw the flag as a symbol of bikers, country and western music, and rebellion. This may be his take on the flag, but for many more people it is a hurtful symbol associated with such things as the Ku Klux Klan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan, white supremacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_supremacy, and Jim Crow laws https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws. 


I heard, loud and clear when Norman Brannon http://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=0184659069, a  representative of South Carolina, from a very conservative part of the state, say he would sponsor a bill to have the Confederate Flag removed from the state Capitol.  He said he did not do his job:  http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/21/politics/south-carolina-confederate-flag-debate/.

Wal-Mart has announced it will removed Confederate Flag products http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-23/wal-mart-to-remove-confederate-flag-products-in-wake-of-shooting.

Living in the South, loving people who have pride in their Southern Heritage, I understand the feelings of identity to the heritage.  But the flag is a lie, and only became widely celebrated as a symbol against the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.  Its symbolism has been glorified, but the symbolism of hatred it portrays has been ignored or glossed over.

It is history.  On a private basis, we cannot ban the Confederate Flag. And if there are people out there who do believe it speaks of pride and glory, they can tout the flag. But I do not have to agree with that. And governments in the United States do not need to support that.

I choose Peace.  I choose the symbols of Peace.

I Choose Peace June 19, 2015

This is what I posted on my Facebook tonight.  This is from the speech that Martin Luther King, Jr. gave after the murder of 4 black girls at a church in Birmingham, Alabama, September 15, 1963 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Street_Baptist_Church_bombing. 
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I am moved to tears to see the faith and hope of the members of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC, the families of the victims, and the people of this country who have joined in prayer and support. I have no new words to share, but share I must. It is my hope that by adding my voice, I am counted as one who has the courage to say love, and hope and faith shall be our way, and we will conquer hate. I choose peace.



And, this is what President Obama quoted in his speech http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/06/18/full-text-obamas-remarks-on-fatal-shooting-in-charleston-s-c/ about the shooting in Charleston, SC.

Dr. King's words are timeless.  It is so sad we have to revert back to them, so many times. 

Peace is a Choice

We can choose peace you know.  It is up to each and everyone of us how we choose, and what we choose.  We can choose the angry retort or rebuke, the mild disagreement, or the gentle deflection.  We can choose to turn the other cheek, or to take up arms. We can choose the angry fist or the proffered handshake.  We can choose civil disobedience that is non-violent, or we can choose a riotous destructive display of civil disobedience.

We make these choices every day of our lives, in our daily interactions with family, friends, co-workers, business associates and strangers.  Most of us do not think about the fact we are making a choice, but we are.  Every single interaction is a choice. 

And the reality is, the choices that reflect peace make our day and our lives much easier. There is less fallout for choosing peace than there is for choosing anger and contention.  That is part of the problem with peace: the ripples that radiate from our peaceful choices are small and do not attract attention.  The ripples that radiate from our angry and violent reactions are so large that they do attract attention, and usually require a response.  A peaceful choice can easily go unnoticed.  An angry one usually cannot.

So as 2014 comes to a close, and 2015 begins, what is your choice?

Sometimes, I Just Have to Shut Off the Television

And, this is one of those nights. Actually, it happens more than I acknowledge. I very frequently just turn off the television so I can listen to music, watch a tape or DVD, or have no audio stimulation going, and just read, or write.  Sometimes, I lhave a musical background while I read.  Rarely, I like a musical background when I journal.  However, when I blog, sometimes a musical background is okay.

But just having some peace and quiet is good.

Thankfulness

We have entered into the season of Thankfulness, followed by the season of Peace on Earth, Good Will to men. I get this confused. Did I get it right, or is it Peace on Earth to Men of Good Will?

I like the former. It is more generous. I went looking for the correct version, and I found this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY It is wonderful.  It is from 1939.  I do not think we have learned much since then, do you?