Martin said, "An individual has not started living until (he) can rise above the narrow confines of (his) individualist concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity..."
He also said, "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."
Kahlil Gibran said, "Life is that which we see and experience through the spirit; but the world around us we come to know through our understanding and reason."
He also said, "We are naught but frail atoms in the heaven of the infinite...If we suffer, the pain lies not in our wounds but in the very heart of Nature."
Are we ready for such words of wisdom...inspiration after decades of dreary platitudes?
Abraham, Martin and John made us feel hopeful, joyful, alive.
The dream died in 1968, but seems alive as we enter 2009.
Can we dream of a world of compassion, wisdom, truth and hope?
Will our new President repair broken world alliances, ecosystems, economic webs, minds and bodies?
Do we have the will to restore the American dream which was launched by the sacrifices of George, Thomas, and Benjamin?
Can we show the courage to leave the world a little better than we found it?
Yes we can.
Lee
Showing posts with label Kennedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kennedy. Show all posts
Friday, January 2, 2009
Thursday, December 25, 2008
The Essence of Christmas
Joy to the World...Silent Night...
How Christmas songs inspire.
Not just Christians... every one open to the idea that there is somethng beyond our physical senses.
John Denver's Rocky Mountain High, Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the wind, Simon and Garfunkle's Bridge over Troubled Waters...all call us to a reality beyond ourselves.
Martin Luther King thought religion at its best was inclusive. All of humanity, all being, share a common bond.
Jesus looked at as the manifestation of the spirit of goodness is a figure all can adore. When contemplating his essence, Christians strive to understand ultimate reality, the source of being.
At the beginning all was one...perfect symmetry ...a unity transcending the coming diversity.
Physicists have found a world of wonder at the core of being. Everything is made up of atoms. Atoms are made up of a virtual cloud of electrons orbiting a nucleus consisting of clouds of quarks.
There are not words or images to describe the core of reality .Only mathematical stuctures and the metaphors created to try to articulate any associated meaning.
The quarks and electrons themselves may be embedded in an interconnected, multidimensional, clouds of entangled wisps of nothingness.
So when we feel a transcendent joy in a work of music or art, when the smile of a stranger penetrates our being, when the suffering of a child rocks our soul...it may be our esence reacting to a transcendent force our minds cannot comprehend.
A version of the Golden Rule is at the core of most belief systems. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Is that a manifestation of a promordial urge to unify with all being?
As we leave this Christmas season and return to our separate worlds, is it possible that the Christmas Spirit can be a universal force which leads to global peace. Regardless of our belief system, can we strive to do unto others...?
Yes we can.
Lee
How Christmas songs inspire.
Not just Christians... every one open to the idea that there is somethng beyond our physical senses.
John Denver's Rocky Mountain High, Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the wind, Simon and Garfunkle's Bridge over Troubled Waters...all call us to a reality beyond ourselves.
Martin Luther King thought religion at its best was inclusive. All of humanity, all being, share a common bond.
Jesus looked at as the manifestation of the spirit of goodness is a figure all can adore. When contemplating his essence, Christians strive to understand ultimate reality, the source of being.
At the beginning all was one...perfect symmetry ...a unity transcending the coming diversity.
Physicists have found a world of wonder at the core of being. Everything is made up of atoms. Atoms are made up of a virtual cloud of electrons orbiting a nucleus consisting of clouds of quarks.
There are not words or images to describe the core of reality .Only mathematical stuctures and the metaphors created to try to articulate any associated meaning.
The quarks and electrons themselves may be embedded in an interconnected, multidimensional, clouds of entangled wisps of nothingness.
So when we feel a transcendent joy in a work of music or art, when the smile of a stranger penetrates our being, when the suffering of a child rocks our soul...it may be our esence reacting to a transcendent force our minds cannot comprehend.
A version of the Golden Rule is at the core of most belief systems. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Is that a manifestation of a promordial urge to unify with all being?
As we leave this Christmas season and return to our separate worlds, is it possible that the Christmas Spirit can be a universal force which leads to global peace. Regardless of our belief system, can we strive to do unto others...?
Yes we can.
Lee
Friday, December 19, 2008
For Spacious Skies
What would the Founding Fathers think? Did they devote the best years of their lives to create a nation which spawns a generation which squanders the bounty of future generations?
Look Kids, a $60 trillion deficit for you to fix. And oh yeah, do it with diminished resources and a ravaged natural environment.
When Jefferson worked with the others to frame a government where justice, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were possible, he drew from deep philosophical foundations.
Platonic ideals, Aristotelian teleology, Kantian Categories, Shakespeare's Complementarities, Locke's Natural Law, Mill's Utilitarianism...he challenged us to pursue truth in the search for justice.
Martin Luther King understood this. In his PhD thesis, King said, "Philosophy necessarily asks the question of reality as a whole...the structure of Being....". In his letter from a Birmingham Jail, he wrote, "Just as Socrates felt it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths...to the unfettered realm of critical analysis...we must see the need of having nonviolent gadflies..."
And when Martin died, Bobby said, quoting Aeschylus, "...we need to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world."
When was the last time you heard one of the guardians of our freedoms articulate such ideas?
Socrates said that if he was wise it was because he understood how much he didn't know.
Can you hear Sarah Palin or George Bush saying that?
Lee
Look Kids, a $60 trillion deficit for you to fix. And oh yeah, do it with diminished resources and a ravaged natural environment.
When Jefferson worked with the others to frame a government where justice, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were possible, he drew from deep philosophical foundations.
Platonic ideals, Aristotelian teleology, Kantian Categories, Shakespeare's Complementarities, Locke's Natural Law, Mill's Utilitarianism...he challenged us to pursue truth in the search for justice.
Martin Luther King understood this. In his PhD thesis, King said, "Philosophy necessarily asks the question of reality as a whole...the structure of Being....". In his letter from a Birmingham Jail, he wrote, "Just as Socrates felt it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths...to the unfettered realm of critical analysis...we must see the need of having nonviolent gadflies..."
And when Martin died, Bobby said, quoting Aeschylus, "...we need to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world."
When was the last time you heard one of the guardians of our freedoms articulate such ideas?
Socrates said that if he was wise it was because he understood how much he didn't know.
Can you hear Sarah Palin or George Bush saying that?
Lee
The Obama Transition and the Press
The economy is collapsing. The planet is in peril. People are dying in wars with no purpose.
After decades of flawed leadership we have a President-Elect who seems to understand how to return America to the greatness envisioned by the Founding Fathers.
Transforming the economy by partnering with the private sector to develop sustainable employment. Developing intenationaal relations in a way that minimizes the need for war. Respecting the rights of all Americans and protecting the environment, responsible government spending.
So what is the press ,which has been dormant while all these injustices developed focused upon?
Whether anyone who has ever come within a mile of the President -Elect has ever been within a mile of Rod Blagojevich.
Like everyine else, I appreciate the entertainment value of a good scandal. I also abhor the injustice and hypocrsy which has governed most of our institutions for decades.
Couldn't the press spend a little time exposing problems that matter...like underfunding Social Security and Medicare, like sending young Americans to die in nation building debacles, like the destruction of what is left of the America's purple mountain majesties by a President who expects to be transported to heaven momentarily.
OK, Obama picked Rick Warren for the Invocation. So what?
Maybe it is time for all of us to take a deep breath and remember the words of The Prophet, "...I say that even as the holy and righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you, so the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also..."
And exactly who is it that Caroline Kennedy should look to who has experience superior to her own? Joe Lieberman? Richard Shelby? Saxby Chambliss? Sam Brownback?
When did hypocrisy and ignorance become the qualities we revere in those who will determine the kind of world in which our children will live?
Lee
After decades of flawed leadership we have a President-Elect who seems to understand how to return America to the greatness envisioned by the Founding Fathers.
Transforming the economy by partnering with the private sector to develop sustainable employment. Developing intenationaal relations in a way that minimizes the need for war. Respecting the rights of all Americans and protecting the environment, responsible government spending.
So what is the press ,which has been dormant while all these injustices developed focused upon?
Whether anyone who has ever come within a mile of the President -Elect has ever been within a mile of Rod Blagojevich.
Like everyine else, I appreciate the entertainment value of a good scandal. I also abhor the injustice and hypocrsy which has governed most of our institutions for decades.
Couldn't the press spend a little time exposing problems that matter...like underfunding Social Security and Medicare, like sending young Americans to die in nation building debacles, like the destruction of what is left of the America's purple mountain majesties by a President who expects to be transported to heaven momentarily.
OK, Obama picked Rick Warren for the Invocation. So what?
Maybe it is time for all of us to take a deep breath and remember the words of The Prophet, "...I say that even as the holy and righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you, so the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also..."
And exactly who is it that Caroline Kennedy should look to who has experience superior to her own? Joe Lieberman? Richard Shelby? Saxby Chambliss? Sam Brownback?
When did hypocrisy and ignorance become the qualities we revere in those who will determine the kind of world in which our children will live?
Lee
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sweet Caroline
That's right, Neil Diamond's classic song was about Caroline Kennedy.
Is it possible she will enter the arena. Can we dream of Camelot again as she and Barack remake the American landscape?
So many disappointments, JFK, MLK, Bobby, John John.
Time magazine said "...history cracked open..." in 1968.
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose...Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio?"
"Ask not what your country can do for you...I have a dream..."
I know, Republicans sneer at any sign of hope. They want to dwell in the underworld of fear and dread. But a new day is upon us. It is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Sounds familiar.
Anyway, after four years of Obama could we have four years of Kennedy?
The two best presidents since Lincoln could be a non-white man and a woman. And America could rise from the ashes.
OK...perhaps a bit hyperbolic, but who can blame us for a little ecstasy after our long, forty year, nightmare?
Transform the economy. Revive the arts. Push the boundaries of science. Most importantly, create a possibility for a future for our children which is at least as good as we have enjoyed.
Lee
Is it possible she will enter the arena. Can we dream of Camelot again as she and Barack remake the American landscape?
So many disappointments, JFK, MLK, Bobby, John John.
Time magazine said "...history cracked open..." in 1968.
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose...Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio?"
"Ask not what your country can do for you...I have a dream..."
I know, Republicans sneer at any sign of hope. They want to dwell in the underworld of fear and dread. But a new day is upon us. It is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Sounds familiar.
Anyway, after four years of Obama could we have four years of Kennedy?
The two best presidents since Lincoln could be a non-white man and a woman. And America could rise from the ashes.
OK...perhaps a bit hyperbolic, but who can blame us for a little ecstasy after our long, forty year, nightmare?
Transform the economy. Revive the arts. Push the boundaries of science. Most importantly, create a possibility for a future for our children which is at least as good as we have enjoyed.
Lee
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