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Showing posts from July 10, 2016

Savagery in Nice, France

I didn’t listen to any news last night. I was on Netflix enjoying a reprieve from the daily chaos. It was this morning that I saw on the news the horror that took place in France last night. What has happened to the human race? I think of Emerson’s sad line, “Man is a god in ruins.” The political pundits are already stirring the pot, pumping politicians for outrageous comments. The politicians are well into their war talk threatening more violence for violence. The security experts are calling for even more surveillance, defense measures, and limitations on the movements of people. But no one seems to be talking about the root of the problem. We can build up defenses and create all kinds of temporary and permanent protections, and those are certainly needed. But what are we going to do about the ideology behind those who have lost any sense of human value? What do we do with dispossessed, angry, psychologically and physically damaged people who don’t care about anyone or a

To Think How Poor Our Best Has Been

I was sitting outside at a Taco spot downtown in the Farmer’s Market area having lunch. I could see the Dallas skyline just a few blocks from me in the background and I thought of the chaos in our city last week in the aftermath of the killing of five police officers by a deranged gunman at the end of a Black Lives Matter protest walk. He was not a part of that peaceful demonstration. But on this day the sun was shining and there was a nice breeze. All seemed quiet and normal. People were coming and going in the usual routines of the day. A small Farmer’s Market bus pulled into the parking lot and picked up a couple of riders. As it drove away I saw a slogan on the back of it that said something about the Market’s fine produce and foods and then, in big letters, there was this: “Cultivating Life.” That’s a lovely brand for a produce market and restaurant area. It would also be a terrific theme for all of Dallas or any great city. The work of a large urban metropolis should be

The Way to Peace Within

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not Everyone Experiences the Same Things in Life

“When I got home I mixed a stiff one and stood by the open window in the living room and sipped it and listened to the groundswell of traffic on Laurel Canyon Boulevard and looked at the glare of the big angry city hanging over the shoulder of the hills through which the boulevard had been cut. Far off the banshee wail of police or fire sirens rose and fell, never for very long completely silent. Out there in the night of a thousand crimes, people were dying, being maimed, cut by flying glass, crushed against steering wheels or under heavy tires. People were being beaten, robbed, strangled, raped, and murdered. People were hungry, sick; bored, desperate with loneliness or remorse or fear; angry, cruel, feverish, shaken by sobs. A city no worse than others, a city rich and vigorous and full of pride, a city lost and beaten and full of emptiness. It all depends on where you sit and what your private score is.” ~ Excerpt from Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye