In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.
Immanuel Kant
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One of the most amazing events of history is when the uprising of the common people topple a government. Hiding underneath the day to day commerce of a nation is the passion of its people for freedom and human rights. That passion is like a store house of explosives. The spark that ignites it is inevitable. We are now seeing evidence of that passion exploding out of the hearts and minds of citizens in some foreign countries where there has been tyranny, suppression, laws against liberties and powerful, dictatorial governments, unconcerned and unconnected to the people they are supposedly responsible for.
Far too often that oppression is founded on flimsy and arbitrary religious traditions. When a country is run by religious beliefs and not by reason, regulations and actions become violations against the very center of civilization.
The recent legislations proposed by the House of Representatives and various state legislatures display a serious lake of reason. To deprive American citizens of valuable programs under the ruse of balancing the budget is nothing more that playing arrogant politics with the welfare of the nation.
Where is the concern, the willingness to improve our lives instead of threatening them, where is the compassion? Most members of Congress have no idea what it is like to be poor, to be homeless, to be a single parent, to be unemployed, to be on welfare, to live a life of silent desperation. And so they are free to make decisions and implement laws to suppress us, control us, take away some of our opportunities, lower our quality of life and our ethical standards. American tyranny is not coming from the White House.
But there is a stockpile of passion in this country also. Those of us who are not sleeping with the rich , dining with the privileged, voting with the gullible or conversing with the ignorant are aware of it. Don't look for conspiracies Congress. There are none. There is anger, frustration and fear.
DB
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HELL'S BELLS
Last weekend people had fun with the ball.
This weekend let's play with the bells
The winner is the one who comes up with the most number references using bell or bells. So ring 'em up.
dbdacoba@aol.com
Good luck
DB
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3 comments:
Great post DB, as always you say it best, wish I had your gift.
If we can channel our frustration constructively, perhaps we can make a positive difference.
Thank you and don't forget the people of Wisconsin! If their governor gets away with this one, others will follow and succeed as well. One doesn't have to look at the Middle East to see oppression. It stares at us every day on the street corner of every inner city, every dead little town in the middle of nowhere and even in the suburbs where foreclosure runs rampant.
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