Speak out

Its a photo day today. 

i have been outraged by the hate filled speech directed towards Muslims that is spreading around the US and hope most reading this blog will speak out against it.

Years ago a friend of mine asked me to call out whoever was doing it whenever i encountered racism or the targeting of some group through the use of hate. 

Speaking out can be uncomfortable. You upset the balance. You might make some folks angry for making them face up to their prejudices. Some may want to just let things slide in order to keep the peace, but keeping the peace and not speaking out was what led to Nazi Germany. 

As my friend said, “If you don’t ask people to speak out they won’t.” So i’m asking all of you reading this blog to please speak out against the dehumanizing rhetoric being directed at Muslims as a group.

Thats all the pleading i’m doing today. The rest will be photos.

A Brown Booby hunting overhead for food

A crab hiding out

Loving those rain clouds

An unadulterated reflected sunrise at Cane Bay

See ya next week

Anger, hate and fear

How often do you question your leaders? 

Why do you trust them? 

Why do you want to be lead into another quagmire just because they said it was the “right thing to do?” 

Why?  WHY?????

Because they said they were going to “protect you?”

Because you feel vulnerable and unsafe, because you are afraid…WHY?

WHY are you being asked to fall in line and condemn “others?” (Syrians)

WHY are you being told to fear and hate Muslims?

WHY aren’t more American citizens asking these questions????

Adolf Hitler wasn’t the main problem…the biggest problem and probably more serious affront to world peace was his followers. HIS FOLLOWERS Those who believed in him, those who spouted his propaganda, those who followed his lead. Without those followers Hitler would have been powerless.

Goebbels who was head of the Propaganda Ministry believed that the radio could be used as the chief means for spreading anger, hatred and fear. 

Today Goebbels would probably be using radio, television and the internet. He used to say that controlling the media was necessary to “lifting the people out of liberal economic thoughts”  and by far it became the regime’s most effective means used to shape German thought.

Parroting nonsense they heard on the radio, Germans quickly fell into line. They were angry at and hated the Jews, they hated people who didn’t look like them, they were told they were the best at everything including war. They were told that professors and intellectuals were suspect.  They were programed to hate and fear anyone that didn’t spout Nazi propaganda. They were made to salut the flag and to feel proud doing it.

Does any of this sound familiar?

In 1933 unions were dissolved under the pretext of workers rights being protected by the new labor laws.  Within three months of their dissolution Hitler passed another law bringing an end to collective bargaining. Unions were no longer and the business community was pleased.

Followers that uphold a particular ideology can become the main problem in nations all over the world. When “patriotic” catch phrases are used BE SUSPECT. 

When you are told to fear some group of people BE SUSPECT.

All leaders be they Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, Governors, Mayors or commissioners and those seeking some office that ask their citizens first to be angry then to fear or hate some particular group of people should BE SUSPECT.

People are taught through repetitive use of propaganda to hate and fear. Stirring up anger and channeling it towards hating an entire religious group is dangerous in the extreme.

So please...your first question should be why are you angry and why are you being encouraged to hate and fear. 

See ya next week.

A cleaner world

The alarm clock went off at 5:45am and as i reached to turn it off i saw an orange luminescence out the window. i jumped out of bed, grabbed my camera and rushed to the front deck. There in all its stunning good looks and captivating drapery was the moon.

Gazing at the moon has made us all do time with the universe and i admit i was a prisoner locked into the moment. It wasn’t until it started to set that i started clicking. i put the best photo on Facebook and got ready to swim.

A relatively flat ocean with partly cloudy skies waited for the thirteen swimmers that decided to answer. We massed on the beach and in the water, adjusting our masks, putting on our flippers, and tucking up stray strands of hair in our caps. We marveled at how lucky we were to have clear water for its not just about the exercise with us, its also about the connection to nature.

Unfortunately my grandchildren may never know or see the ocean the way i have and that makes me sad. 

Our connection to our world and everything around us whether you live by the ocean, desert, prairie, or mountains is a part of who we are as human beings. We live, breath and work in a world that is being damaged as I write. We all see tangible changes to our environments that need new solutions for fixing.

Americans have always been on the forefront of positive change. We can create healthy safe communities that protect our future children's world and make our world healthier. Changing how we attack the damage to our environment is better for our families, for us and for the future of the world.

We all want healthy safe communities. We already try to protect our families but we could do more. Using clean energy instead of dirty energy benefits everyone. Its good for our cities and rural areas, good for our people, it saves money and it creates new jobs and industries.

Why wouldn’t we want a healthier world?

Today we already have low-cost, reliable wind and solar power. People all over the country are seeing wind farms and solar panel facilities spring up and pump clean energy into their homes and businesses. American ingenuity has helped make this more of a reality in a relatively short period of time. But we need more of it so we can focus on clean energy and a healthy world instead of dirty energy and a sick world.

Think how lovely it would be to not have to drive your car into a gas station. Or how you would feel powering your own house with your own solar panels? 

We Americans can lead the world if we would only get off our duffs and look towards a clean future. We are innovators, we can come up with solutions, we can make clean energy affordable for everyone if we only put our minds and ability towards living in a healthy world. 

Don’t you want to leave a world where the air is clean and the water is drinkable? 

We should be proud that we can create a cleaner world. Let's do it.

See ya next week

Resist hate

Resisting hate is the first step towards regaining a clear head. 

i’ve been reading comment threads all over the internet but especially at Yahoo in relation to the carnage that occurred in Paris. The hatred directed towards Syrian refugees, Muslims and Islam in general makes my blood boil. 

The calls to arms against Muslims or people who practice Islam is repugnant.

Here at Humanity Squared our first job is to put the shoe on the other foot before jumping to hate filled diatribes about groups of people you think you know.  

Why? 

Because you don’t know them. You only know the propaganda you have been filled with by those that want you to hate.

Refugee’s are not the cause of the Paris attacks, the Beirut attacks, the downing of the Russian plane, or the attacks in Iraq. Refugee’s are trying to escape. They are trying to find a safe haven, a place where they don’t have to contend with war. Using them as a scapegoat out of misplaced hatred does a huge disservice to any possibility for peace in the Middle East or even peace here at home.

Fanatics can rally vulnerable people to any cause. Hating just supplies more ammunition to the troops regardless of which side you are on. Saying Syrian refugees shouldn’t be allowed into the states is crazy. It drives the hated into the arms of the oppressors who then turn around and use them to terrorize. You do understand this is exactly what ISIS wants.

The core claim against letting refugees in is that background checks are impossible. Well according to the law to get in to the US you already have to go through high-level security checks, bio-metric screening, a mandatory interview with the Department of Homeland Security, a medical screening, and a cultural orientation program. On average it takes 18-24 months to go through the vetting. So please…refugees are vetted, more so than in other countries.

A minority ruins religion when they say they kill for it. Unfortunately 1.6 billion Muslims have to suffer because of it. They endure the hatred. They are put on the defensive. They are bombed and called collateral damage. They are terrorized worse than the Parisians but no one feels sympathy for them. They are the ones that are expected to get on social media and apologize for something they can’t control and in many cases are trying to escape from. Most Muslims who have gotten on social media are belittled, their pleas for reason buried by those claiming this never happens. Today, if you look on line, you can find Muslims with signs saying "Not in My Name." But this does little to appease the haters.

A case in point. A young taxi driver in NY was in tears this weekend after waiting over two hours for someone to get into his cab. Stupid, hate filled people avoided his cab when they looked in and saw he might be of Middle Eastern descent. He had tears of gratitude towards the man who would finally ride with him. He cried because he could finally do his job. He is a perfect example of someone that is trying to make a living, trying to be accepted as a human being but being potentially driven into ISIS arms because of misplaced hatred and fear.

Governors in Michigan(Snyder) and Alabama(Bentley) along with Republican presidential hopefuls announced their opposition to letting Syrian refugees gain asylum in the United States. This is probably all based upon a passport found close to one of the suicide bombers in Paris. So far French officials say they have no proof it belonged to the bomber. They said the number in the passport is incorrect and the name doesn’t match the picture. But hate filled leaders in the US have jumped to conclusions and are opposing Syrian refugee status.

If we want to solve a problem that has gone on for 14 years, maybe we should start looking at different options. War obviously hasn't worked. It has only made things worse. Tikkun has come up with a plan...go check their website out. http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2015/11/15/after-paris-say-no-to-the-militarists-and-fear-mongers-yes-to-a-strategy-of-generosity/

i’ll say it again…resisting hate is the first step towards regaining a clear head.

See ya soon

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 2015

Four months is a long time to be on the road but it went so fast i'm still whirling...actually i should probably say glowing, or floating, or heady or just in a WOWZERS state of mind.

Our travels took us from the east coast to the west coast then north as far as Fairbanks and south to New Mexico. Twelve thousand road miles done in the most superb car built for adventure. We took her down horrible dirt roads that only big 4-wheel drive vehicles should have been on. She kept us dry when we needed her, cool when it was hot, and warm when it was cold and she hauled around all our junk.

Along the way we saw some incredible scenery, met and stayed with the nicest people,  camped all over, had wonderful things happen to us, and want to go back.

i'm not going to go into lengthy verbiage but i do have loads of pictures to post and will start with the last first which was the highlight of the trip...and i do mean high!

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

It all starts in the dark.

Balloons need a lot of tender loving care and can only be touched while gloved.

Spreading them out on the ground happens after having set up the basket and flame thrower.

Balloons need air to fly and filling them takes time. The pilot checks the inside to make sure everything is secure.

When he is ready he uses the gas to elevate the balloon.

The crew hangs on while he does.

Once up, the balloon is held in place until the word is given to fly.

Lots of other

balloons wait too.

Only two other people

besides the pilot will go up with this balloon.

Every day, during Fiesta, a different set climb in and soar with 500 other balloons.

Soaring in a balloon is addicting

...especially when your first time is with all these others. They are below you,

above you,

beside you

...all around you

and its a glorious feeling

to be sharing air space with them.

No one knows where they will land but the chase crew keeps close tabs.

This is where we landed.

 Thank you Martin, Carol, Valerie, Stefan, Susan and all the rest of the chase crew for picking me to go ballooning i will never forget how quiet, peaceful and exhilarating those 45 minutes were.

i