Occupiers 2

"Lord, who is like unto thee, which delivered the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?" (Psalms 35) Will the Occupiers be able to stop the tyranny? They better or the financial institutions will come back with a vengeance.

Congress Beware

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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Xenophilic Xylograph 5/25/09

I got myself out of harms way and got no place except out of harms way, which was good.

DB - The Vagabond
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Come in, come in.
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There is a certain type of person who, though they seem to be reasonable and agreeable to be with, when vested with some authority become oppressive and tyrannical. To work under such a person requires great patience and compassion. To a sensitive yearning soul such a person can be devastating. I don't know why people become that way. Maybe they are afraid of the power they have and so compensate. Maybe they think that is the way they are supposed to be and act accordingly. Or maybe that's the way they really are and it doesn't show until they gain the authority and freedom to let it out. Whatever the reason it is harmful to human relationships, a sabotage of an effective and harmonious work environment and a permanent scarring of a persons feelings.

I have seen people turned to pulp, being ground under the heel of some suppressive boss. One day, at work, I found a gentle woman crying in the hall. It seems she had asked her boss if she could leave a little early to attend a memorial service for a dear departed member of her family. His answer was to give her an hour and a half of extra, overtime work to do before she left. It makes me angry right now just to think about that.

I volunteered to perform a scene for a directing class at a large film school. The teacher felt empowered to be as insulting to us as he wanted to even though he was completely ignorant about the scene. He didn't know what he was talking about but because he was the "authority" we had to sit there and listen to his offensive drivel.

I was doing a classical play in Massachusetts. The director was brutally critical of me. Everyday he tore my work apart, even in front of the children in the play, with some savage and inappropriate language. Another actor in the show and I had the same agent. Evidently the actor called the agent and told him what I was going through, because the agent called me and asked me if it was true. Then my agent said "Get out of there. Give your notice. I'll get you a better job." So i gave my two weeks notice, played through my final performance and the next day, as I was packing to go back to New York I got a call to do another play, starting immediately a scant 100 miles away. I did that play and it was a joyous experience.

Later I learned that the actor who took my place was getting the same abuse as I had received. And I also learned that the director had tried to play that same role himself a few years earlier and failed at it. So, naturally, he wasn't going to allow anyone else to feel successful in it.

Life is too important to allow anyone to damage my self respect if I can help it and when I can I will promptly get out of the way.

DB
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May your memories today be happy ones.
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