KISS

Not too Simple!

I believe that we are caught up in the throes of a renewed awakening, a period of sustained cultural and political transformation during which our ways of seeing the world, understanding ourselves, and expressing faith are on the cusp of change.

Intense change will end what most of us believe or assume to be true. The monumental transformation in our society has created a creates the double-edged monster of decline, what must follow is renewal. God did not promise that nothing would harm us; She promised to be with us and guide us regardless of the perils we face. And we do face immense perils in our society and the world today.

I do not agree with what our leaders are doing in Washington; this includes members of both political parties. I want to be fair to all people and their beliefs. My father was a staunch Republican, absolutely have no use for the Democrats. As a youth, I agreed with him. Then came reality. I am what some would call an independent, having voted for people on both sides of the aisle. I matured in the 1960s with the political and social unrest brought on by the Vietnam War, the fight for civil rights for all people, and the ERA for women. The 1960s was a period of intense and hateful divisions in our country.

We then went into a period of relative calm. Our leaders joined forces to enact true improvements for the citizens of this country. Then, as in all history, we as a people became complacent, just as did the ancient Israelis 2500 years ago. The 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and now the 2010s brought chaos in the cultural and political lives of the country.  We, the people, have forgotten that we are the government; we have allowed special interest groups to rule us.

We must return to what our values based on our faith, not money; and, I am not centering on any one religion. I have read the holy books of most religions in the world and as a general rule, I have found that all teach the same basic message: Love God, Love our neighbors (including strangers), and Love ourselves. Welcome those who are in need or need a place to eat and sleep.

This seems to be such a simple message; but it is a message that we have long forgotten. It is critical that we reverse the downward slope we are traversing, before it is too late. We shirk our responsibilities to others and care only for ourselves. I heard a religious person from Detroit say that we cannot blame the politicians for our woes. They are only doing what they know how to do . . . protect themselves. This is a perfect example of how we act and react towards each other. We voted for these politicians; well, not really; only 51% of us voted; the rest of us did not care to vote.

I know I have gone way off the title of this, but I will return to it. Our lives depend on us following very simple rules that can be extremely difficult if we allow them to be. We must Love God, Love ourselves, and love our fellow man. We must also demonstrate this Love daily. If we do not, we will find it almost impossible to experience the profound transformation needed.

I have always believed in the KISS principle. Keep it simple, stupid. I despise the word stupid; after all, I am an educator and do not believe that people are stupid. However, in this case, I will overrule my own unofficial conduct and us this term, because I believe that unless we recognize what we must do, the minimum we must do, we will fail as a society, as a world society.