"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36 (King James Version)
Anyone who knows me at all or those of you who have read my blog through the years know that I am politically moderate leaning towards radically left where human rights are concerned. I am registered Democrat but vote for the person not the party. I genuinely see two sides to almost every issue and weigh my words carefully lest I have any influence on anyone’s thinking.
That being said, I am horrified at what has happened to the Republican Party. After reading, several weeks ago, that the president blamed the wildfires in California on the people suffering through them, my first reaction was sadness for a man who lives without empathy and seems to need daily small victories to survive in his current position. I can not be angry at a man who told us what he is, from the day he began his climb to the presidency and never wavered. Those of us (myself included) who tried to convince ourselves that this was his ploy to get votes, and he would mellow out if elected, were grasping at elusive straws to make ourselves feel better. That is not his fault or problem. He told us what to expect and is exactly what he said he is!
It is those that surround him that deserve our scorn. Whether they are the manipulators or the manipulated, they are steering our country into a monumental fall for personal gain. The manipulators disgust me, but they too are being true to themselves. They are radical men who found someone they can “horse-whisper” to, and they will push their agenda to the limits. I hate that, but I understand what motivates them.
It is the manipulated men and women representing Americans in the name of the Republican Party who have lost their souls somewhere in their quest for a conservative America. Those are the people who truly disgust me. Those are the people who should hang their head in shame. They are allowing their leaders to say things that are blatantly un-American, and turning the other cheek so their agenda will be furthered. I have to assume that there are not too many republican senators or representatives who believe that “gross mismanagement of the forests” is causing the fires in California, yet not too many have come to the defense of those who went through the blazing inferno.
I imagine that most republican senators would have been horrified to have a liberal judge confirmed to the Supreme Court if his reputation included excessive drinking and several accusations of sexual harassment, yet only one stood up to say “this is wrong” when they saw the opportunity to further their conservative agenda. They are slowly giving up all of the values that they stood for to insure that some of their agendas are met.
I understand that they fear for their positions because the White House has shown itself to be vindictive against those who cross them, but our representatives must stand strongly against everything that goes against our constitution and the well-being of our country. On September 11, 2001, a group of people on United Airlines Flight 93 came to the realization that they would risk their lives to fight for what was right, because living with the consequences of the destruction of all that we hold dear was more than they wanted to bear. They lived and died as heroes.
I am not asking our representatives to give up their lives to save our constitution. In fact, if they truly believe that gross mismanagement is causing fires and/or harassing women is a “boys will be boys” type of thing, then they should most certainly stand strongly behind it. What I am asking is that if they don’t believe in these things then have the strength to stand up and be counted. Who knows, maybe they will start the wave that will bring the republicans back to a party we can be proud of during a time when heroes are so desperately needed.
On a lighter note, I decided to review one more children’s book before the Christmas holiday-giving time is past, and ended up reading over a dozen selections. While many were good, I am Sonia Sotomayor (Ordinary People Change the World) by Brad Meltzer (Illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos) captured my heart. The series by Meltzer is a gift to our children, and this one was particularly charming.
As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly
Anyone who knows me at all or those of you who have read my blog through the years know that I am politically moderate leaning towards radically left where human rights are concerned. I am registered Democrat but vote for the person not the party. I genuinely see two sides to almost every issue and weigh my words carefully lest I have any influence on anyone’s thinking.
That being said, I am horrified at what has happened to the Republican Party. After reading, several weeks ago, that the president blamed the wildfires in California on the people suffering through them, my first reaction was sadness for a man who lives without empathy and seems to need daily small victories to survive in his current position. I can not be angry at a man who told us what he is, from the day he began his climb to the presidency and never wavered. Those of us (myself included) who tried to convince ourselves that this was his ploy to get votes, and he would mellow out if elected, were grasping at elusive straws to make ourselves feel better. That is not his fault or problem. He told us what to expect and is exactly what he said he is!
It is those that surround him that deserve our scorn. Whether they are the manipulators or the manipulated, they are steering our country into a monumental fall for personal gain. The manipulators disgust me, but they too are being true to themselves. They are radical men who found someone they can “horse-whisper” to, and they will push their agenda to the limits. I hate that, but I understand what motivates them.
It is the manipulated men and women representing Americans in the name of the Republican Party who have lost their souls somewhere in their quest for a conservative America. Those are the people who truly disgust me. Those are the people who should hang their head in shame. They are allowing their leaders to say things that are blatantly un-American, and turning the other cheek so their agenda will be furthered. I have to assume that there are not too many republican senators or representatives who believe that “gross mismanagement of the forests” is causing the fires in California, yet not too many have come to the defense of those who went through the blazing inferno.
I imagine that most republican senators would have been horrified to have a liberal judge confirmed to the Supreme Court if his reputation included excessive drinking and several accusations of sexual harassment, yet only one stood up to say “this is wrong” when they saw the opportunity to further their conservative agenda. They are slowly giving up all of the values that they stood for to insure that some of their agendas are met.
I understand that they fear for their positions because the White House has shown itself to be vindictive against those who cross them, but our representatives must stand strongly against everything that goes against our constitution and the well-being of our country. On September 11, 2001, a group of people on United Airlines Flight 93 came to the realization that they would risk their lives to fight for what was right, because living with the consequences of the destruction of all that we hold dear was more than they wanted to bear. They lived and died as heroes.
I am not asking our representatives to give up their lives to save our constitution. In fact, if they truly believe that gross mismanagement is causing fires and/or harassing women is a “boys will be boys” type of thing, then they should most certainly stand strongly behind it. What I am asking is that if they don’t believe in these things then have the strength to stand up and be counted. Who knows, maybe they will start the wave that will bring the republicans back to a party we can be proud of during a time when heroes are so desperately needed.
On a lighter note, I decided to review one more children’s book before the Christmas holiday-giving time is past, and ended up reading over a dozen selections. While many were good, I am Sonia Sotomayor (Ordinary People Change the World) by Brad Meltzer (Illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos) captured my heart. The series by Meltzer is a gift to our children, and this one was particularly charming.
As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly
Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog
