February 26, 2014
If you were here yesterday and noticed the date, you might be confused by the date I am using today. Actually, today is the 26th. You can chalk up my error yesterday to the fact, I am new at this, very new. But as you are about to see, I am still intent on offering my opinions, based on what I have learned over my eighty plus years.
The most obvious lesson is the fact that I am slow at realizing I left the "bold" key on.
Today, I had the choice on two important articles that came through my computer today. One was another lecture from a man who really troubles me, Albert Mohler. If you don't know of him, I would have to say, you are blessed - but I will get back to his thoughts. My choice today is an article appearing in the New York Times, today. Yes, I know, you may not like the New York Times and especially, Thomas Friedman. Well, I happen to like both; one, because the Times covers most of the real news - daily, and provides space for Friedman who seems to understand the times in which we live, better than the rest of the self-proclaimed arbiters.
Today, Friedman is quoting Professor of Foreign Policy at John Hopkins University, Michael Mandelbaum: "The biggest geopolitical divide in the world today is between those countries who want their States to be powerful and those countries who want their people to be prosperous."
The first are those States like Russia, Iran and North Korea and because they have the resources to drive their desires, oil and nuclear power, they can trade for the materials they do not have in abundance. The others are like those in Nafta, the European Union, the Mercosur trade bloc in Latin America and Asean in Asia. I stop here as its my opinion that most of us have little real knowledge of Nafta, the Mercosur trade bloc, nor Asean.
I scan lots of newspapers, watch a lot of the media outlets, both of them busy trying to convince the public that that they are on top of the trending developments in our world and most of us fail to realize we are merely hearing what others want us to hear - or, worse, the "news" that captures our attention.
Today, it's whether or not the Governor of Arizona will veto the "anti-gay" legislation on her desk. That tells me we would much prefer to see whose religious beliefs will be sustained by the fact she signs the bill or ends its effort to extend bigotry to Main street, USA.
Tomorrow, and most of the days for the time being, it will be to see which political party's chances will be improved in November by the numbers of "suits" facing the news cameras.
It's my prayer that things will not change significantly, because that keeps us busy and we tend to forget there are much more important issues in which we all ought to have our minds focused. All of that takes me back half a century while helping to elect Herman Talmadge to become Senator from the "great State" of Georgia. I was young then, very young, and had a mind that absorbed everything I heard, regardless of its source or credibility. Herman kept reminding us that people vote with their hearts and seldom do they use their minds to determine a political favorite. Well, to tell you the whole truth, I am being kind to Herman as some of the things he attempted to teach us were not fit for print. It was a good lesson for me to learn as most of the politicians I have known over the years were not that far removed from Herman's assessments.
That is why I referred you to Friedman's article. He goes on to discuss his thoughts of Professor Mandelbaum's conclusions and if you are really curious, you will read Friedman, today. I happen to like what he has to say, but I want to convince you that Talmadge's axiom remains valid, that people vote with their hearts and not necessarily their minds.
If that is a valid conclusion, it ought to remind us of the world in which we live and more importantly, the world in which our children and grandchildren will live.
That is how my votes will be cast. And you?
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