~The 60 Years Project~

On November 17, 2011, I will have achieved 60 years on this tiny, green planet. There are milestones and then there milestones. I guess 60 is as good a place to stop and look at life as any. Some people decide to do something special, something daring, even dangerous to commemorate this landmark in their life, but since I’m afraid of heights (that rules out skydiving) and I’m in no shape to climb Mt. Everest. Something a little more down to earth might be in order for my 60th birthday.

I like history and I enjoy writing, so this idea began rattling around in my head as the big 6-0 approaches. What if I invited friends and family, in honor of my birthday, to write about life, their THOUGHTS, and the past 60 years? I would certainly welcome your best wishes, memories and stories about our past together, especially stories, but I don’t want to limit WHAT you write about and HOW you share it. A poem, an essay, pictures, photos, a DVD or a tape recording would all be acceptable submissions for this project.

I would be looking for both humor and insight into the human condition. What makes us who we are? What shaped us? Who were our mentors and teachers? What were your triumphs and failures, your joys and your tears? What lessons have you learned? What makes life worth living? If you have some great truth about life, share it with me. What is your take on the past 60 years on this planet? I’m after your…THOUGHTS!

I ask that you put some real feeling into what you submit for this project. I will consider your submission as a special gift, a 60th birthday present to me. I also realize that such a request might be overwhelming or intimidating for some and that is okay. Your thoughts and best wishes will always be enough of a present for me.

If you wish to participate in this project, please send your submission by my birthday 11/17/11. You may send it via e-mail to:

sortman808@aol.com (subject::  “The 60 Years Project”)

And if you need to send your submission by regular mail…contact me via e-mail for my mailing address.

I will send more reminders and suggestions later on.

Steve

2012 What is Next?

The ancient Mayan calendar ends in the year 2012, for no apparent reason, leading some to prophesize the end of the World.


Since the beginning of the New Millennium, we have witnessed our share of disaster, including a shocking attack on our country, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, a near collapse of the global economy, an oil spill in the Gulf and now a record earthquake and tsunami that has devastated Japan and led to an unprecedented nuclear crisis. Some experts say that if there is a major breach from the damaged Japanese reactors, deadly radiation could reach our Pacific coast in 6 to 12 days and travel on the winds to the rest of the world. It is easy to imagine why some would fear that the end of the world, or at least the end of the world as we humans know it, is near.

In the midst of all these natural and man-made disasters, we have dealt with the cost in both lives and money of two long wars springing from our War on Terror. We have endured a financial meltdown that this country has not seen since the Great Depression. The loss of jobs and the foreclosure of homes from this crisis and now the rising cost of gasoline have just about put the average American on the ropes emotionally and financially. To top it all off, are the political battles between liberal and conservative factions of this nation, not seen since the U. S. Civil War. The political climate has led to gridlock and stalemate in Washington and around the country at a time when we desperately need to cooperate and get things done.

I want so badly to turn off the news and just say, “That’s it. I’ve had it. No more.” But the ebb and flow of the news is always there and I have to somehow survive the onslaught of words, problems and threats and deal with it all. If a lethal wave of radiation does not kill me in the weeks to follow, I’ll surely have to deal with the idiots in Washington still battling it out over budget cuts to schools, Medicaid, same sex marriage and giving the richest bastards in the world tax breaks.

I invite you to join me in a prayer for our country, Japan and the world:

PEACE. CALM and PROTECTION.

May the White Light of Universal love and protection once again envelope this tiny green planet and sooth this Mother Earth and its inhabitants. May we come to REMEMBER that we are all connected to each other and that we are stewards, not owners and exploiters. May we REMEMBER that what we do to the least of our fellow beings and this planet that sustains us…we do to ourselves.

Amen.

One final thought. Mankind may indeed have come to a crossroads. One way will send us to our doom, proving the Mayan calendar true. But the other way, may just lead to a whole new life, a new human existence, a leap forward in our evolution. There are souls already here that are waiting to take us into a future that we can only imagine. (Read up on the Indigo Children.) Somehow, I’d like to think that God is not through with us yet. (A little pissed off perhaps, a little tired…yes) but He may just have some plans for us, some Great Plans! I may want to stick around to see what happens.

Food for THOUGHT…

Class Wars

Is America in a class war? Conservative vs. Liberal?


More and more it seems that the Conservatives want to conserve their wealth, power, values and influence at all costs. They accuse Liberals of wanting to spread the wealth around, calling them “socialists.” Both camps have been fighting it out for decades, but never has our nation seemed as polarized as now. On one end of the spectrum you have the wealthiest Americans and large corporations influencing elections and law makers and at the other end you have the poor, the elderly, and the working class. Many of us in the middle class, struggling to pay our bills and put our kids through college are being caught in the crossfire of this class warfare.

How dare the Wall Street crowd and the large corporations who were bailed out by American taxpayers put their Conservative friends in office so they can call for devastating cuts in education, healthcare and other programs that sustain the very life for millions of poor and elderly in this country while they, the wealthiest, enjoy their Bush era tax cuts and the profits from two wars draining our federal coffers. How dare they bring this country to near ruin and tell the rest of us “let them eat cake!” They are already enjoying record profits while the rest of America struggles to recover from their excesses.

Progressives need to step up and fight for not only the poor, and the elderly, but the middle class as well by yes cutting waste, fraud and pork from our state and federal budgets, but also calling for those wealthy corporations and Americans to part with more of their money through tax reform, closing loopholes and dare I say… even tax increases. Everyone has to feel some pain, if we are going to get out of debt. If union workers are being asked to give up hard won collective bargaining rights, then Wall Street bankers and corporations should give up their tax cuts and loopholes. They should bring jobs back to America!

The solution to our staggering deficit can't just be draconian spending cuts on domestic programs (only 14% of the budget) demanded by Conservatives and the Tea Party. Neither will a solution come from tax reform and tax increases on the wealthy alone. It must be a working compromise from both camps. It must protect our economic recovery and still provide for our poor and the elderly. Also, it cannot be financed on the back of a struggling middle class wondering how they will be able to afford gas in their cars to get to a job that may be gone, if the economy goes back into recession again.

Education, health care, social security infrastructure and national security are important. We can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater while the “rabble” shouts off with their head. Waste, corruption and pork must be found and removed and new efficiencies and technologies must be embraced. Blindly gutting programs that made this country great will not save it in the end.

Me thinks this current group of wealthy, out of touch lawmakers and Tea Party radicals are not up to the task. I hope they prove me wrong. The fate of this once great country hangs in the balance.

Food for THOUGHT…