The Spiral

You know those wishing wells you sometimes see in stores where you throw a penny in and it spins and spins each time around the perimeter getting closer and closer to the center. Each spin goes a little bit faster, is a little bit tighter until suddenly, there goes the penny down the hole in the center. Sometime I feel like I am that penny. I am out on the edge, just spinning around joyfully ignorant of what is coming next. Suddenly, I realize I'm not on the upper edge any longer, I'm in the middle. Well, that's alright, the middles not so bad, it's kinda fun in fact. The circles I am spinning on are going faster and we all know I love speed. Until of course, I realize that this fabulous fast spinning is taking me closer and closer to a hole. Now I am worried. Having no idea how to stop what I see coming, I spin and spin inching ever closer to that dark hole. What does it contain? How far will I fall this time? Sometimes the fall is far, sometimes something is blocking the hole and I don't actually fall in. Either way, I don't know while I'm spinning, and once I have started, there is nothing I, the penny, can do to stop it. I just have to wait to fall, hoping that I will survive this one and that someone will clean out the wishing well and I will get another chance. Is my only chance to be put back on the spinning wishing well to try to stop the spinning this go-round? Or is there something else I should be hoping for? Does the spinning ever stop? Is there anything besides the wishing well for this little penny? I don't know. Maybe someday I'll find a different ride. Until then, I suppose I will just keep spinning hoping to survive this round and that the fall will be short and cushioned.

My Favorite Catalyst

I was reflecting on my life the other day, thinking about some of the decisions I might be making. With one scenario, I thought, "That could be really hard, it could be like living in hell again. Oh well." I was excited about the challenge and how hard it would be. I have learned that it is during the hardest times, that I am growing and learning the most. During the easy times, I don't care so much or make as much effort. My state of being is constant, in homeostasis so to speak. In contrast, when things are harder, I make more of an effort, I change, I learn, then I come out on the other side much better than I was before. So, although hell is well, hell, it is the catalyst to the reaction required to result in positive change and growth. Nothing does it quite the same. Not even the proton. (Which by the way, is probably my second favorite catalyst.)

Adam-Ondi-Ahman

This past weekend I was able to travel to Missouri and Iowa for a cousin's wedding in Des Moines. While traveling, my mom and I made a few tourist stops. My favorite one was Adam-Ondi-Ahman. It was incredibly amazing and beautiful. Here are a few pictures from our visit.

Pied Piper Photography Contest

I LOVE photos. SO much. Don't always like having them taken of me, but I adore looking at them. I treasure the old photos I have of my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. My aunt told me about this gal, and I love her work. And who doesn't love to win free prizes right? So, I thought I would share the good news. Check it out and enter the contest!

New

Wow, definitely feeling the need for the new post. Just to clear the air. I am passionate about my beliefs whether spiritual, moral, or political, so I don't regret the last two posts, I needed to say what was said, but I feel the need for more positive energy in my blog. Here goes!
Have you ever felt like there was a moment when suddenly everything in life made sense? Life still isn't perfect of completely hunky dory, but you see truth now instead of the mess it appeared before? If not, I do so hope you find a moment like that in life. It has seriously changed mine. I think I have been working up to it for quite some time now, for say, about the past two years that have been my personal hell on earth. The thing of it is though, that now, no matter what challenges and struggles I encounter, I truly know that I can get through it. I basically figure that if I can go through those years and come out on the other side strong and alive, then I can handle anything. I can choose what my life will look like, who I will be, and how I will react to everything around me regardless of anyone or anything else.
One of my favorite New Testament stories is in Mark 5:24-34.
" 24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."
I always wished to have as much faith as her. And although I still have some physical ailments, many of them seem to have miraculously disappeared. In their place I have found such things as joy, peace, hope, and agency. I may not be able to control whether or not I feel sick, but I can choose how to respond and how much faith I will show. Whether it happens on this earth, or in the life to come, I know that I too can hear the words of the Savior say to me "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace and be whole of thy plague." Someday, because of my faith, I will be blessed with a body free and whole of this current plague. No matter what earthly challenges and hurts I may encounter, I can choose to go forward through them with faith, building it up until one day it will be great enough for the miracle. So that when the Lord asks me if I believe before he performs the miracle, rather than saying, "help thou my unbelief", I can say "Yea Lord, I know".

CPUSA

As a side note to my post earlier today, do you know what CPUSA is? Have you ever heard of it before? Me neither, at least not until recently. Its the Communist Party USA. I thought I was going to regurgitate my food when I found out about this. So much for the Red Scare, Democracy, the Constitution, FREEDOM. And yes, they have been active for all ninety years since the first Red Scare. If you don't already have enough nightmares, here's a link to their site.

Science and Technology, or Communism Commentary?

Recently, my thoughts have been turned towards the situation we Americans find our country in. It is as if I awoke one day, took of my rose colored glasses, but what I saw was still colored red. You may think I am being dramatic and that perhaps my views and beliefs are out-dated. So be it. Quite frankly, to any of you, I personally believe that you are part of what has brought us, the United States of America a country endowed by God, to the threshold of ruin.
As I have been studying and pondering the position we are in politically and socially, I have been appalled by the realization that I was indoctrinated from, well, at least Elementary school. The most apparent indoctrination happened during my high school education. Perhaps you too, learned of the Red Scare at some point during your education. If you were to guess which class I learned about it in, the top guesses would be Social Studies. A History or Government class would make the most logical sense. Unfortunately, you couldn't be more wrong. Not once was the Red Scare even mentioned in any of those classes. No, no, I learned about it in my Junior English class with Ms. Golden. Regular level English even, not Honors or AP. And Ms. Golden, an aging woman who knew much about the subject she taught, but kept her maiden name although married, and had lived a life breaking free from the social ideals of the time she was born in. Would you like to now hear about why we learned about the Red Scare in Junior English?
We were reading The Crucible, in class. Its author, Arthur Miller, had been a part of the Communist Party of the United States of America. Of course, we weren't told that at the time. What we learned was about McCarthyism, the practice of making reckless and unsubstantiated accusations of treason, disloyalty, subversion, anti-patriotism against political adversaries. I will say that much of what happened during the second Red Scare, was unconstitutional, and I therefore cannot support the means that were taken to find, prosecute, and punish those involved in communist activities. What we were taught in school however, made it seem as if it were all a bad joke, a huge mistake made by the government, that there was no reason for concern or action against these people. We didn't learn about Communism and Socialism and the horrors the people ruled by it live through. Nor did we learn about the dangers presented to our great Nation by such ideologies. Instead, we learned that there was nothing to fear in the first place. I'm sorry Ms. Golden, for I hate to disrespect my elders and those who have taught me, and I did like you at the time, but you couldn't be more wrong. And yes, I do hold you personally responsible for the current disastrous position that I find my country in. You and many others.
I hate to be frustrated with my ancestors, for I come from a very good line of people, but in this one instance, I am. Could you not have awaken, and stopped smelling the roses, to see what you were creating for me? The horrible mess and treacherous position I and my children now must fight to keep? The current culture, political, economical, and moral, is not what I ever wanted to be living in, but now, I find myself hoping that we can stave of full Communism, that we can keep the few freedoms we still have, stop the government from taking more. And then, of course, the young people of our country, my own generation, my peers, are blinded too. Does no one remember history? Has no one ever heard of Hitler? The age who should be fighting harder and more ardently than any other to keep our freedoms, to protect our rights and re-gain control of our government and the truths of our Constitution, are blinded and give it all away for the glittery word "Change". Change. Thank you Mr. President Obama for the change you will bring to our country. Perhaps it will cause my peers to see the truth of what they have chosen. Did you know that this exact situation was promised to the US by Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union? And yet, the Red Scare was just a joke, a big mistake.
Another discovery that similarly disgusted me, was that of realizing the message of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. This book we happened to read my Senior year in English. I was in a combined English 101/102 and AP class. In these, the advanced classes, aren't the students supposed to be taught how to understand the underlying themes and messages of pieces of literature? That's certainly what I thought. The thing about it is, that we really didn't learn any of that. The depth of analysis we did on Brave New World was so close to the surface it is almost comical. Almost, but not quite. Again, I have another wonderful teacher, Mr. Myers, to thank for educating me so well.
Back to the point of bringing up the bold novel. At first glance, it seems mostly to discuss the danger of new science and technology, and the use of drugs. More important than those issues however, is the drastic difference it paints between a government controlled society and one of "savages". Huxley's creation of a dystopian society not only shows us the potential dangers of allowing science and technology to be controlled by the government, but also of the loss of human nature that occurs when the government gains complete control of society. The World State is seen as providing happiness through stability. The belief of one of its ten controllers is that the social stability providing the happiness, indeed does sacrifice truth, but, is the greater good of the two. Truth sacrificed for a meaningless happiness. And only a sense of happiness since most of it comes from a wide and government supported use of a hallucinogenic drug called soma. Another large contributor to the sense of happiness is the lack of morals. Monogamy and families are abhorrent ideas in the World State. Abortions are common, but are controlled by the fact that even becoming pregnant is such a terrible idea that contraceptives are used consistently by all females able to get pregnant. (Which I should note, are only those of the upper two classes of society).
The societal classes of the novel are created by the government, with no option for moving up or down. Each embryo is conditioned physically and mentally for an exclusive social class. No matter whether in truth they were a bit inferior as Bernard Marx is, or a bit superior, as Helmholtz Watson is, each person is stuck with what they have been conditioned for. This conditioning is leads to the ruination of Linda. Giving birth to a child is the ultimate humiliation for her, and she is not able to understand and live by the Savages ideas. Soma and death are the only escape for her. John, the Savage, not having been conditioned for anything, finds himself unable to conform to a society with no morals and no real substance. The society of the World State, is the picture of Communism. Every one has their place in life, and what they need for that life. All of society is under the close monitoring and control of the government. There is no stepping out-of-bounds allowed. You can choose to conform, or to be exiled. It is noted in the novel that human nature is lost in this society.
Another point to be noted, is that it was after a visit to the United States, and viewing our culture, that Aldous Huxley wrote brave New World. He was appalled by our culture, the gratification we allowed ourselves, and afraid of it overtaking European culture. However, at the end of his novel, when particularly stating that the direction's that John's feet swing as if a compass when he is hanging, that Huxley makes a crucial point. It is a statement that the United States will not be able to survive if it doesn't conform to socialistic and communistic society and ideals. We will swing one way and then the other, till we land in the East on socialism and communism, without ever swinging to the West.
Are you wondering yet, when this lengthy post is going to end? Soon, I promise. My point in explaining what I have learned in school about the Red Scare, and what we should have learned about Brave New World is to help shine light on the situation our country is now it. We have allowed our country to be run over and poisoned bit by bit by socialist and communists hiding in the corner. If we do not begin to fight back, we will have lost the Cold War sooner than we realize it hasn't ended yet. As Khrushcev promised, it won't be a physical battle, but i has come on for many years bit by bit. If you, dear fellow Americans do not wake up immediately to the truth of this, when you wake up tomorrow, the free US, will be a communist nation. We cannot allow this kind of tragedy to occur. It has come to far already. We must rise up to fight back. We must teach our youth, our children, even our adults what the truth is. Not the propaganda and indoctrination we have become so accustomed to, but the truth. That the United States of America, is a nation endowed by God, if we but keep our morals, values, liberties and freedoms. If we fight for our families, our rights, our religions. Our founding fathers created a Constitution to protect those rights and liberties, so long as we the people cared about them. Many of them are no longer being protected, but have been exploited. If you and I and our children have any hope for being free tomorrow, we must take a stand today. I personally, have no desire to live in that "brave new world". I claim the right to be free, to choose how, where, and what to worship, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, to the ability to raise a family with values and principles. These rights are not given by government, but it is the duty of a government to protect them. Currently, that is not happening. Take a stand America. Wake up and see the Red that is all around us. Fight back. Don't sit smelling the roses. Remember who we are. Remember our Nation's heritage and the men and women who have died protecting it and to create it.