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
————————————————————
“Prejudices are what fools use for reasons.” – Voltaire
Despite the reasons for my long-term absence, it has become impossible to remain silent. I shall share some of the wiser words I’ve been reading. The current state of things forces me to at least offer some words that I hope will be read and reflected upon. For many, these quotes will not be a revelation. For others, they may be a bitter pill. The best thing they could be is food for thought. I shall keep to the brief quotes that I share. They will be short but rarely sweet. Perhaps some will even be inspired to expand on the thoughts I bring to the table. Thank you. Léa
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity.” – Voltaire
Most timely, Charles. We all need to read and heed these quotes. The budget needs to put Education as a top priority. Alas, under the current regime, that won’t happen. One’s head must be buried deeply in the sand to not see the price the nation is paying for ignorance. Thank you for shining some light out into the darkness.
I find it both criminal and heartbreaking that over five years have gone by since I first shared this post and that things have exploded into the current state of affairs. My son is relieved that I’m so far away as he knows I would be on the frontlines with the protesters. We are long past due for the pendulum to swing and this time to go in the direction that is needed. Let it swing for love, understanding and compassion.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Parents and schools should place great emphasis on the idea that it is all right to be different. Racism and all the other ‘isms’ grow from primitive tribalism, the instinctive hostility against those of another tribe, race, religion, nationality, class, or whatever. You are a lucky child if your parents taught you to accept diversity.” – Roger Ebert
“I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” – Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird (Character – Scout)
“The Holocaust illustrates the consequences of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping on a society. It forces us to examine the responsibilities of citizenship and confront the powerful ramifications of indifference and inaction.” – Tim Holden
*
T.B.P.I.K.
Yes, that is how
They do it
All of them
The black people I know
They put on their pants
First one leg and then
The other
They hold down jobs – frequently
More than one – to survive
Blacks often are paid less
They eat, sleep, and shop
Cooking meals for family
Inviting friends in
Taking a hot dish
To someone whose been ill
They work in hospitals, search and
Rescue, give to charity,
Donate blood – you may have
It in you now
In a crisis – do you refuse?
They are expected to remain calm
As one more is profiled
Gunned down, targeted
Until the scapegoat paradigm
Chooses to target someone else
Momentarily
They read books, write poems
Dream dreams, large and small
They reach out their hands
In pain and in friendship
THE BLACK PEOPLE I KNOW
Bisous et solidarité,
Léa
“We are willing enough to praise freedom when she is tucked away in the past and cannot be a nuisance. In the present, amidst dangers whose outcome we cannot foresee, we get nervous about her and admit censorship. – E.M. Forster
“Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.” – Henry Louis Gates
“Submitting to censorship is to enter the seductive world of ‘The Giver’: the world where there are no bad words and no bad deeds. But it is also the world where choice has been taken away and reality distorted. And that is the most dangerous world of all.” – Lois Lowry
–
DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND READ:
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/statementspols/freedomreadstatement
*
Fight Censorship and thank a Librarian
It’s banned books week
And if a book hasn’t
Made it on that list
I’m not sure it is
Worth my time
Reading
*
It’s banned books week
If you care about
Making your own
Choices
If there is a book
You like that
Has made the list
Speak out
*
It’s banned books week
Somewhere there is a
Librarian who has stuck
Her neck out
For your right to
Read what you choose
They are the hero’s of
The hour
*
It’s banned books week
Celebrate
Read a book
From the list
Read the statement
Freedom to Read 1953
Celebrate
Then go to the independent
Book store and buy
Banned books
*
Stop by and leave a comment. Share your favorite Banned Book.
Bisous,
Léa
“He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression, for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.” – Thomas Paine
“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” – Howard Zinn
“If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America.” – Nelson Mandela
“If those in charge of our society – politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television – can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves.” – Howard Zinn
–
“If the Nuremberg Laws were applied, every postwar president would have been hanged.” – Noam Chomsky
The above quote was made in 1990 and did not include Presidents after Bush Sr. With the criteria, one can easily see to which ones following, the quote applies.
His reasoning:
Truman for the atomic bomb ( deliberate targeting of civilians as mass murder), plus counter-insurgency work in Greece
Eisenhower for his role in the CIA overthrow of the Arbentz government in Guatemala, maybe also an intervention in Lebanon and the role of CIA in Iran
Kennedy for Bay of Pigs invasion (“outright aggression”), Operation Mongoose, and his involvement in Vietnam
Johnson for Vietnam escalation
Nixon for Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos
Ford he acknowledges as tricky but his support of Indonesian invasion of East Timor (“near-genocidal”)
Carter as “least violent” but supported the Indonesian government despite atrocities
Reagan for “the stuff in Central America,” support of Israeli invasion of Lebanon
Bush (Sr.) for his involvement in the Gulf War
In making his assessment, Mr. Chomsky uses the Nuremberg principles that follow
“The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:
Violations of the laws or customs of war which include, but are not limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave labor or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory, murder of ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the Seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity
Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime”
“There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.” – Rumi
As Rumi said, be still and listen to the voice that comes from within you. Search your conscience and decide if you will now stand against ignorance, war, and hate.
Peace,
Léa
I should be peppy and lively. I should be able to find the ingredients to get the laundry done, to go take a few pictures. Something.
I’m too beat up to find anything remotely effervescent in me right now. It has been a grueling few months. Not always in a bad way, but still exhausting and the crazy humid heat has not helped. I also suspect that my tolerance for extremes of weather is diminishing with the years because I’m far less energetic now than I was even a few months ago.
The combination of personal crises, national calamities, climate change, and a general sense that everything I worked for and cared about is being undone in such a short time, my head is spinning. The best part of the summer has been our winning baseball team. You know life has gotten awfully rough when you cling to sports as…
View original post 625 more words
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” – Haruki Murakami
“You don’t have to burn books to destoy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” – Ray Bradbury
For Jack Eason and the other authors who keep us in stories despite the struggle. Please visit Jack at his blog: https://havewehadhelp.wordpress.com/ and do all you can to support our independent authors, presses and publishers. I owe so much to the books in my life as well as the neighbor’s daughters that taught a three year-old how to read. It saved me.
Free books or the price of ignorance…
The author says nobody wants to buy
Real books, waiting for kindle
Or what they can get for free
Long ago I learned that
Precious little is free
Waiting to see the strings attached
Or what might appear
From behind someone’s back
I will admit to a “free” book
But I did have to exchange one
Of my own precious volumes
The price to be paid
Yet Jack is right
The author deserves his compensation
When one writes, much of who we are
What we believe is invested in each word
Writing is not merely work, a job
It is opening veins and pouring
Out your blood, opening oneself
To the acid tongues of the critics,
Those judging not only your work
But your life, who you are
Fiction’s DNA, the authors reality
To take what is produced
Without re-numeration, theft
–
Remember, purchasing a good book is a gift you give yourself. It needs no batteries nor electricity and is easily shared.
Bisous,
Léa
Here’s another post about some of the sharks waiting to pounce on the unwary writer… ~~~ As a published writer, sooner or later you will encounter one or more of the following! Once you have published a book or books, it is inevitable that you will attract the attention of individuals with a doctorate obtained […]
“Parents and schools should place great emphasis on the idea that it is all right to be different. Racism and all the other ‘isms’ grow from primitive tribalism, the instinctive hostility against those of another tribe, race, religion, nationality, class or whatever. You are a lucky child if your parents taught you to accept diversity.” – Roger Ebert
“I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” – Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird (Character – Scout)
“The Holocaust illustrates the consequences of prejudice, racism and stereotyping on a society. It forces us to examine the responsibilities of citizenship and confront the powerful ramifications of indifference and inaction.” – Tim Holden
*
T.B.P.I.K.
Yes, that is how
They do it
All of them
The black people I know
They put on their pants
First one leg and then
The other
They hold down jobs – frequently
More than one – to survive
Blacks often are paid less
They eat, sleep, and shop
Cooking meals for family
Inviting friends in
Taking a hot dish
To someone whose been ill
They work in hospitals, search and
Rescue, give to charity,
Donate blood – you may have
It in you now
In crisis – do you refuse?
They are expected to remain calm
As one more is profiled
Gunned down, targeted
Until the scapegoat paradigm
Chooses to target someone else
Momentarily
They read books, write poems
Dream dreams, large and small
They reach out their hands
In pain and in friendship
THE BLACK PEOPLE I KNOW
Bisous et solidarité,
Léa
Make Hugs Not War.
a medical education website
Poetry, Positivity, and Connecting!
Current events, politics, ecology, environmentalism
France is beautiful. My hiking skills are not.
TheCertifiablyTRUERavingsOfASectionedPhilosopher: Don't be afraid to think you might be a little 'crazy'. Who isn't? Check out some of my visualized poems here: https://www.instagram.com/maxismaddened/
Poems, poets, poetry, writing, poetry challenges
Barcelona's Multiverse | Art | Culture | Science
pleasantly unruly
poetry, photos and musings oh my! 