Spring Thoughts, Ides of March, An Election Year, Movie-- Lord of War

The Ides of March

March is named after Mars the Roman god of war. I have always associated March with the Ides of March, a time of trouble and uncertainty because of the fact that Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March—March15 -- an event which changed Roman history. This historical assassination is retained in our collective memory and made even more famous by the play “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare and the novel “The Ides of March” by Thornton Wilder. March is also a time of new beginnings. March 19^th is the vernal equinox--the first day of Spring with all the hope and excitement that the coming of Spring brings.

The Coming Election—

A Defining Moment in History

With the Iowa caucuses past, we are now in full swing toward the presidential election with super Tuesday on March 3^rd and on toward the Democratic nominating convention on July 13^th and the presidential election on November 3^rd. I have been through many elections, but none is as important to our country as this election because the future of our democracy is at stake. We will not only be choosing a president, but a way of life that ultimately will affect every citizen. Will we choose an autocratic leader who will dictate to us how we should live and think, or will be choose a leader who will allow freedom of choice-- a leader who will celebrate our diversity and make a better life for every citizen in our country. That choice is now the choice of every voter to make and if we make the wrong choice as the Germans did in electing Hitler (who promised Germany he would make Germany great again) any loss of our freedom will be ultimately our own fault. It will be the most important task this year of every freedom-loving citizen to put all their energy and effort into preserving our precious democracy for the present and for all of our future generations

Movie --Lord of War

This month I saw the movie “ Lord of War” with Nicolas Cage. This story is partly based on the real-life Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. It is a moving and interesting portrait of the type of man who will sell weapons to anyone in the world who will pay his price. Nicolas Cage gives an accomplished performance of a man who only cares about money and doesn't worry too much about the morality of what he is doing in selling death. It is also a portrait of the people in all countries who enable these weapon merchants to exist unchecked and unregulated. I had never before thought about all of the important leaders in our world who are complicit in the distribution of chaos and death.

This film was officially endorsed by the human rights group Amnesty International for highlighting arms trafficking by the international arms industry.

Free books by June Stepansky

A Different Voice—free self-help book

https://www.free-ebooks.net/self-improvement/A-Different-Voice

Kaleidoscope—free poetry book
https://www.free-ebook.net/poetry/kaleidoscope

Valentine's Day , The Impeachment Trial Begins. A Short Story by Leo Tolstoy

Valentine's Day

February mean's Valentine's Day and thoughts of love. My first experience with Valentine's Day was when I was six and in the first grade. I got a beautiful gold valentine from a boy in my class that I have never forgotten, although I have never seen him since elementary school. It made me realize how important are our early years in determining our feelings and our thoughts and ultimately our lives. I hope Valentine's Day will be a special one for you. If you don't have a special someone in your life than be sure to celebrate Valentine's day by giving yourself a Valentine's Day treat in honor of the universal power of love.

The Impeachment Trial Begins

Tuesday—January 21, 2020

Friedrich Neitzsche wrote--

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”

“To recognize untruth as a condition of life--that certainly means resisting accustomed value feelings in a dangerous way; and a philosophy that risks this would by that token alone place itself beyond good and evil.” 

 

Neitzshe's words still are meaningful to us now. We are living at a time when truth itself is being manipulated so as to blur the lines between truth and lies. The disagreement between the Democrats and the Republicans about the rules of the coming impeachment trial is about suppressing truth itself. Will the members of one political party be successful in suppressing witnesses and documents that tell us the truth about what happened between President Trump and the Ukrainian President Selinsky and will the truth of this event be suppressed for political reasons and ultimately undermine our precious democracy? The way the senators vote at this trial will be very important both now and in the future and will certainly be remembered at the ballot box in November and in the history books for future generations to ultimately be our judges.

Master and Man

A Short story by Leo Tolstoy

This is a story about a man who is obsessed with money and power and who has little compassion or understanding for those less fortunate and who “attains a spiritual/moral revelation.when his life is endangered. This story once again repeats one of Tolstoy's famous themes: That the only true happiness in life is found in living for others.” Wikipedia )

This story, which was written in 1895, still resonates in our troubled times when so many powerful, educated and influential people are choosing personal and political gain over truth and morality. Money and power are a powerful incentive which many people in the past and unfortunately in the present have not been able to resist and who still are willing to deny truth, and compromise their life values to attain. We are now seeing this drama being enacted in front of our eyes every day on our television screens.

A New Beginning

I have always thought about the beginning of the new year as filled with hope and possibilities. We can put behind us the mistakes of the past year and can start to build a year filled with the hope that we can accomplish whatever we feel will give us more happiness.

I and my friend, Genesis, ( whose name appropriately means birth or beginnings) were talking about how to put some relaxation in our lives to help us cope better with daily responsibilities. The next time I saw her I asked her what she had decided to do and her answer really surprised me. She said that since she was a child, she had always wanted to see a sunrise, and that she and a friend got up at 3:00 AM and did just that. She really looked happy when she showed me pictures of her beautiful sunrise. What I realized then is that what makes each of us happy is very individual and something that only we ourselves can know. I hope this new year all of you will also try to discover whatever it is that you have always wanted to do and plan to make your dream a reality.

A Continuing Political Drama

On December,18th we saw the impeachment of the president. The articles of impeachment will soon be sent to the Senate for trial. The Senate will then decide if President Trump is guilty or innocent, It will be important for all citizens and our country that the Senate trial be fair and impartial. A political trial which doesn't have witnesses who must tell the truth under oath is not a trial at all. This is a sad and historic time for our country which has only impeached a president 3 times in our long history. The process is moving in a logical and eminently fair way to hold the president accountable for his questionable actions against the rule of law. The founders of our republic were very wise when they devised the 3 equal branches of government to rule our democracy. When the executive branch of government takes unreasonable power away from the other branches, then it must be held accountable through the power of impeachment. That is what ultimately will continue to keep our democracy safe from dictatorship.

Cultural Explorations
  Movie—Puncture

A movie that I watched this month reminded me that many corporations do not care about the human beings who buy their products, but are only concerned with the profits that they can show to their investors.

Puncture tells a true story about a flawed and self-destructive lawyer, Michael David Weiss, who in spite of the downward spiral of his life, makes a courageous moral decision to fight, against all odds to take on the medical establishment and and medical manufacturers to force them use a new invention which can save many thousands of lives and which they don't want to use because of the added cost and kickbacks which they currently practice. The story of this difficult fight against impossible odds and the ultimate outcome show what one morally principled man can ultimately achieve to make the world a safer and more just place. The movie is a loving memorial by the family and friends who loved him to a man who ultimately made a difference in all of our lives.

Free e-books by June Stepansky

https://www.free-ebooks.net/search/June+Stepansky 

A Different Voice

Kaleidoscope