While we remain in a barrage of lies, threats, and hate, I choose to share the wisdom of those whose words I can respect. In my humble opinion, the featured quotes in this series, need no elaboration or explanation from me. It is my sincere hope that someone out there will pick up the gauntlet and expand on the concepts. It would be a pleasure to reblog such a post. Thank you, Léa
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“Prejudices are what fools use for reasons.” – Voltaire
I followed the money trail
That sap laden root of evil
Through the land of Mordor
To the heights of Mount Doom
Only to discover
Under a shadow of gloom
The dark arts of Sauron
Veiled behind the illusion
Of a philanthropic institution
Euphemistically referred to as
A reproductive health foundation
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Let’s start with the star count: Back in the winter sometime, I posted information about an effort to study light pollution by asking people to count the stars they could see inside the constellation Orion. If you’d like to see the map that compiled from that study, here’s the link.
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I know I said the news was from Britain, but what the hell, I’m sitting in Britain and I’m typing this, so this comes from Britain, even if the news is from the U.S. It’s too good to miss: Someone from Nebraska is suing every gay person on the planet. In federal court.
She’s not claiming gay people have broken any laws. In fact, her hand-written, seven-page statement doesn’t talk about law. She quotes the Bible and she quotes a dictionary.
Now, I’ll admit to having misspelled a word or two in my time–possibly more than two. And…
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Given the horrors of the mass shootings over the weekend, clearly inspired by bigotry, white nationalism, and racism, I decided to use this post again. (https://en.wikipedia.org) In 1935, Sinclair Lewis, in It Can’t Happen Here, spoke to the idea that many Americans held that fascism could not occur in the United States of America. His […]
via It Can Happen Here: Revisited — charles french words reading and writing
“ The strongest and most effective force in guaranteeing the long-term maintenance of power is not violence in all the forms deployed by the dominant to control the dominated, but consent in all the forms in which the dominated acquiesce in their own domination.” – Robert Frost
”A gentle reminder that all we are aiming for here is stricter gun laws that make it harder for people to get guns (because it shouldn’t be easier than getting a driver’s license) and the removal of Military Grade Weapons from Civilian Society.” – Emma Gonzalez
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Back to School
The lazy days of building castles in the sand
Are melting into memories, those castles
Tossed by waves, without a trace
A trip to the store, or commercial bombardment
Reminds everyone, a new school year is not far away
In years, and decades past, visions of new shoes,
Dresses, pants, shoes, and backpack were deemed essential
Somethings never change, alas, they have
With the standard supplies added to the shopping cart
Thoughts turn to the avant-guard in school couture.
A nation turns to uniforms of BODY ARMOR
In hopes, their children make it home from school
Trump, Moscow Mitch, G.O.P., N.R.A., Corporations, Mainstream Media,
Dems, who have sold out to big money, they don’t care, your heart a gaping hole.
They won’t be there as you fondle your child’s clothing, planning a funeral
Nights filled with those final moments, and the cold remains
Captured on instant replay, they won’t hear you screaming
For one more moment, waking you from the nightmare that doesn’t end
The freezing numbness that shreds your aching soul
They wouldn’t know, one must have a soul to crush it
No need to plan graduations, college applications, future weddings, grandchildren…
There won’t be those faces around the table, calls with those we love
Replaced by capitalism’s greed with waking in the night
Screaming in the dark, in the middle of the day, arms empty and aching
Knowing our children are never coming home
In memory of those who have died in the hate shootings that terrorize a nation. Lives lost, families left with gaping holes where loved ones used to be. All in the name of dividing the country for profit and domination.
Bisous,
Léa
I’ve been pretty angry and upset over this whole Tygpress.com thing over the past three or four days. But in the scheme of things, it’s small potatoes compared with what’s going on in the United States. At least 53 people were shot dead and many more were wounded by separate mass shooting incidents in just this past […]
Charles, thank you for saying what shouldn’t need to be said. Unfortunately, the malignancy is rampant and fueled by the swamp.
(https://pixabay.com) No matter the political party to which you might belong, no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, racism is completely unacceptable in the United States of America. Donald Trump, who has a history of racist tweets and behavior recently attacked Congressman Elijah Cummings in a way that can only be racist. “As […]
via Oppose Racism — charles french words reading and writing
With only a week before elections, I hope each of you will reach deep into your heart and address what you are about and what you are willing to do about it.
Here is a small offering of quotes to ponder and it is my sincere hope that when you do go to vote, your conscience goes with you. Do you listen to all the hype or can you still think for yourself? It is often the one pointing the finger at others that has the most to hide. There are agendas and there are hidden agendas that you will not be apprised of until the opportunity to have your say is gone. The country has not been so divided since the Civil War and as things continue in the current regime, that seems to be the direction that the country is heading toward. Of course, another possible outcome could be another war. If so, who would be your allies? As things stand now, the administration and conservative media, have alienated allies of the past and left the nation most vulnerable. They have declared war on the environment. Pushed to the brink, the planet will survive, but will humanity? Yet the administration has trampled every protection for the environment and done all that it could to escalate global warming. I could go on, but I would rather just get to the quotes and hope you take some time, soul-searching. What kind of world and what kind of life are you bequeathing your progeny?
“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke
“False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.” – Socrates
“The best form of government is that which is most likely to prevent the greatest sum of evil.” – James Monroe
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” – Albert Einstein
“Indifference, to me is the epitome of all evil.” – Elie Wiesel
“The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.” – William Shakespeare
“Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.” – Jerry Garcia
“Moral evil is the immorality and pain and suffering and tragedy that come because we choose to be selfish, arrogant, uncaring, hateful and abusive.” – Lee Strobel
“Shall I tell you what the real evil is? To cringe to the things that are called evils, to surrender to them our freedom, in defiance of which we ought to face any suffering.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“The secret to happiness is freedom… and the secret to freedom is courage.’ – Thucydides
“Hypocrisy is the mother of all evil and racial prejudice is still her favorite child.” – Don King
“Apathy is the overrated protection of that rock you’re hiding under.” – Laura J.W. Ryan
“Live simply so that others may simply live.” – Mahatma Gandhi
While this is merely a minuscule sampling of applicable quotes, I do hope you take time to ponder and search your values. What are you about and what kind of world do you wish to leave to your children, grandchildren, and subsequent generations?
Bisous and Peace,
Léa
What will we do on that day? That day is here.
For Pastor Martin Niemoller (1892 – 1984)
when,
the hushed rage of prejudice rejoices in triumphant pomp and hateful ceremony,
and,
the silent dagger of complicit racism plunges deep into the soul of a world bereft of hope,
and,
the long knife of embraced apathy twists and turns,
then,
perhaps we’ll open our opaque eyes,
and perhaps then we’ll open our sewed-up mouths,
and perhaps only then will we whimper in mock shock and startled surprise,
for,
the festering hate that spirals around us,
in the fertile minds of quasi-religious bigotry,
is unafraid,
and speaks in the loudest baritone.
2.
Yet,
we accept,
we acquiesce,
we wish it all away,
but,
there will come that time when the lines are drawn,
when the purest hearts of silently smiling bigotry will hold the world in their sway,
with their cherubic, agreeable arguments sprinkled with pieces of fact that will kill, rape…
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CHRISTINE IS A HERO AND THE FBI ONLY FOUND WHAT THEY WERE ALLOWED TO. THIS GOVERNMENT IS A SCAM AND CORRUPT TO THE CORE.
“Think of your son. Think of your husband,” Trump continued. “I’ve had many false accusations. I’ve had so many. When I say it didn’t happen, nobody believes me.”—Donald Trump mocks Christine Blasey Ford’s Testimony at Mississippi Rally
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testifying before Senate committee [Image Credit: The Cut]
I sat in front of my computer, riveted to the live feed of the hearings. I watched Dr. Ford’s gut wrenching testimony and Brett Kavanaugh’s bewildered, infuriated response. And as the tears poured down my face, I remembered…
Events such as this happened to almost every woman of my generation. Lives were ruined, damaged, or simply never realized full potential. Overall, we got on with the business of living despite the memories we didn’t let ourselves think about.
BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR DAUGHTERS AND OUR GRANDDAUGHTERS. IT HAS TO STOP.
Sure, decades have gone by since…
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