Hindsight 2020

There has been a lot of discussion over that past -say- 10 years about how the moral compass of the United States has taken a nose dive into the toilet. These discussion are often times initiated by Evangelical Christians who claim that people are turning their backs on God and, as a result, our sinful ways are destroying traditional family values and United States as a whole. What is a moral compass? Quite simply, it's the ability to know right from wrong. Someone with a strong moral compass always seems to do the right thing; even if doing the right thing is difficult. But 'right' and 'wrong' are not always concise sides of a coin. Our definition of what is right and what is wrong in informed by the society in which we live and by the rules or beliefs followed by that society. Often religion plays into those rules or beliefs. And that takes what is right and what is wrong into a whole other realm; depending on which religion is being followed. Religion itself is a...

 It must be tough to be a dog in a world dominated by humans. So many rules. I'm sure it would be nice to just be able to be a dog and just live out your life on your terms and your conditions without having to worry about your next meal or a bunch of rules. For some dogs, the rules are an easy trade off for getting to live in a house with humans who love you and take you for walks and feed you and give you belly rubs. Noble wasn't in that 'some dogs' category. He was a big, goofy, high-strung, headstrong dog. My wife and daughter came across him at Animal Control and brought him home. The problem with dogs you get from Animal Control or any other kind of animal rescue or shelter, is you will never know their past history or the real, complete story of why they're in need of a home. Noble wasn't quite a year old and he seemed like a well-tempered dog who just needed to learn some manners and household rules. But we will never know his backstory. Maybe he just ha...

  It has come down to this. A giant chasm dividing the left and the right. Each side screaming insults and accusations at the other across the dividing void. Since the middle is now an ever increasing gorge where no one from either side can stand without plunging into the abyss below, there exists no common ground to meet on. And as the expanse between the two sides grows deeper, so do the perceived differences. The two-party chokehold around the necks of the American people becomes tighter and tighter as each side struggles for more power. Power which will be used to vilify and weaken the other side. Winners are declared by electoral votes but, these days, there are no real winners among the common citizenry. We all just lose more of our humanity, empathy, love and respect toward one another as we're all coerced into joining one of two sides. And once we're firmly indoctrinated into a side, we're expected to fall in line behind the leaders of the side. Regardless if they...

America, you've become a stranger to me I thought I knew you but I was mistaken Liberty and justice are now forsaken America, you've become a danger to me Belligerent children pulling away from reason To follow a tyrant who's guilty of treason America, you've become an embarrassment to me Viewed by the world as a pathetic joke Forgetting the words that our forefathers spoke Entitled and spoiled, ignorant and vain Believing a liar who loves hatred and pain United no longer, just a left and a right An abyss in between, devoid of all light Again you ignore all that history has taught To follow a man that billionaires bought My heart is broken, my hope is dim America, I long to find you again

 If it's one thing humans are incredibly good at, it's killing their fellow human beings. We don't need much of a reason most times and there's certainly not much forethought, logic, or reasoning involved before we start firing bullets and missiles, dropping bombs, and deploying deadly drones. Whether it's a lone gunman pissed off at someone or something or an entire nation pissed off at another nation or group of people; rest assured, heads will roll and bodies will drop. And when it's all said and done and there are dead and wounded everywhere, absolutely nothing will be resolved. In fact, it will only lead to more anger, misunderstanding, kneejerk reactions and, yes, more killing. Our history books are full of these accounts of man killing man whether it's revenge, holy war, or self-preservation. You'd think after seeing these killings repeated century after century after century for the same old weak and tired reasons, we'd be able to learn to st...

 I've been thinking a lot about the end. My end. I'm currently over in Sweden with my wife. The purpose of this visit was supposed to be to celebrate 20 years of marital bliss and see some of her family. A chance to take it easy for a while. That was the purpose until my wife's stepmother, Monica, suddenly passed away at the beginning of August. We had already purchased our plane tickets for the end of September and it would've been expensive to try to change the flights. Plus, I couldn't take off of work any earlier than we had already planned for. So, with my wife's halfsister's help, we arranged to have Monica cremated and then planned for the funeral to take place when we got to Sweden.  Monica had no children, but my wife considers her more of a mom than her biological mom. Monica had cancer and we all knew she would never be cured of it, but she had been responding very well to treatments and we were both looking forward to spending some quality time w...