Dear America,

"Everything that we see

is a shadow cast by that which we do not see."

Martin Luther King

Happy Friday!

Did you know that people are ten percent happier on Friday than on Monday? 

That is a no-brain-er now, isn't it?

Didn't take a study taking $71,623 hard-earned tax payer stimulus dollars to figure that one out -- you know, like the one researching the affects of cocaine on monkeys currently going on in the state of North Carolina.

Nope; we just know that most of us are pretty much happier at the end of the work week and not at the beginning; we are happier at five o'clock Friday afternoon than on Sunday night at bedtime.

It was Johnny (Chapman) Appleseed Day yesterday; and to that end, we could probably credit Johnny for the homegrown American philosophy, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away."

Nowadays, it is a well researched fact illuminating the wealth of attributes wholesomely embedded in the apple; the article linked above counts out nine of them within the confines of a brand new site I found today, simply called "Succeed with This".  Very easily, a slip into a place like this could turn into an afternoon browsing it's offerings of good tidings, life lessons and suggestions; and like Adam and Eve, just blame it on my attraction to the little lowly fruit, luring me in with it's shiny red skin and juicy goodness, to start things off for me this morning -- perhaps persuading you to go there now, or later.

Ahh but Johnny Appleseed could very well be one of our nation's first conservationist, as the legend goes he walked the parts of Ohio and Indiana and Illinois sowing apple seeds and promoting land preservation wherever he went.

 And just maybe he was one of our first capitalists, too -- exemplifying a free enterprise approach, building a market of franchisees along the way, making deals with land owners for next to nothing --  anyone with a little plot of earth to turn could get a piece of the action; at the end of the day, or even a week, it didn't matter to ole Johnny if he ever saw a dime, all he really needed was a warm meal and a sleep on the floor before moving on to the next town.

Whether Friday or Monday, or midday Tuesday -- it would appear that Johnny was content with his lot in life and made a career growing seeds of charity, love, and wholesome goodness.

After all these years of folklore and song, I never knew the missionary man inside the legend. According to personal accounts, he walked the Midwest (and normally barefoot), having never settled down with a wife and family. He made it part of his travels to tell stories and propagate the word of the gospel,  connecting his love of nature and conservationism with the Kingdom of God through the teachings of Swedenborgianism (I never heard of it before today either. Unless of course, you are smarter than me and have -- which may very well be the case -- what do I really know).

Anyway, Swedenborgianism, an organized religion from back in the day and familiar by many names, the name pertinent to the discussion is it's creator's, a man by the name of Emanuel Swedenborg -- a Swedish scientist and theologian who lived from 1688-1772. 

Now Johnny, born September 26, 1774, as a boy he was taught to have great respect for the earth and all of nature, he gravitated easily to the teachings of Swedenborgian and the thinking "we see love and wisdom of the Lord manifested -- if one is learning truth or doing good it is from Him -- whether consciously aware of it, or not, that God is the source."  While Johnny sang the song, "The Lord is Good to Me" everywhere he went, children would naturally flock to him, making it a custom to finish the day sharing words of wisdom with the wee ones at his feet soaking up every word, the little offshoots that they are.

But basically, Johnny was a wanderer and a drifter, leaving only a small orchard to his sister when he died, and yet remarkably, the legend of his life and times seems to have left quite a mark on the American landscape.  He was a man who truly walked his talk.  (As a side note, I sure hope he remains an admirable lesson to uphold in the classroom, warranting at the very least a half a page of American history in return... Lord knows, given what's going on right now in the state of Texas and the controversial textbook review.)

Now, the converse of little Johnny Appleseed can be discovered through the fine research of an outlet called Pajamas Media. They uncover:

"Without any oversight, accounting, or transparency, environmental activist groups have surreptitiously received at least $37 million from the federal government for questionable “attorney fees.” The lawsuits they received compensation for had nothing to do with environmental protection or improvement.

The activist groups have generated huge revenue streams via the obscure Equal Access to Justice Act. Congressional sources claim the groups are billing for “cookie cutter” lawsuits — they file the same petitions to multiple agencies on procedural grounds, and under the Act, they file for attorney fees even if they do not win the case...

Nine national environmental activist groups alone have filed more than 3,300 suits, every single one seeking attorney fees. The groups have also charged as much as $650 per hour (a federal statutory cap usually limits attorney fees to $125 per hour).

...Most cases were simply based upon an alleged failure to comply with a deadline or to follow a procedure...

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Budd-Falen. “We believe when the curtain is raised we’ll be talking about radical environmental groups bilking the taxpayer for hundreds of millions of dollars, all allegedly for ‘reimbursement for attorney fees.’ And what is even more maddening is that these groups are claiming that they are protecting the environment with all this litigation when not one dime of this money goes to projects that impact anything on-the-ground related to the environment. It just goes to more litigation to get more attorney fees to file more litigation..."
 

The health and welfare of our nation is under attack, and as long as the "apple a day" philosophy, and all of it's character and message back behind the simple phrase continues to be ignored or frowned upon, we will never correct what truly ails us.  Even the current health care legislation, the one that is "supposed to be good for us" never stands a chance to bring us the good -- given the political, legal and corrupted nature of "this land is your land, but not really", combining this dubious environment with the fall of man.
 
It is things like this, the imbalance of power with the destructive activities of attorneys, the unscrupulous actions under the guise of environmental and conservation causes (point of ref. Cap & Trade and Global Warming), along with the rampant use of "the public good" without consent or approval in order to commit fraud against an otherwise proud and stand up nation from right under our noses -- things like this will ultimately be our downfall, like the bite of the proverbial apple.
 
Did you know that even the scent of an apple is believed to be enough to "wash away all negative thoughts while also prompting or promoting loving thoughts towards others" ?  That little tidbit was found in my daily visit from astrology.com, giving me the word of the day according to some aspect of Feng Shui (and you can get it, too, by just going to http://www.yahoo.com/ , they can take you from there).

Hence, the medicinal value of smelling mom's apple pie wafting through the house...

Johnny had it all going on -- he promoted the cultivation and preservation of our land, he fed the children with words of character building and loving grace, he walked the earth sowing seeds of peace and understanding, he left America a better place than which she was found.

A pioneer, a drifter and a wanderer, clearly he lived a life so well grounded, his legend speaks for itself.

This is the kind of country from which he came -- and this is the kind of country we need to propagate and nurture -- planting the seeds for a nation's true success; only by restoring our roots and drenching the earth with happy thoughts and good character will we grow an orchard of this caliber, ample enough to sustain a people for generations to come.

Certainly, an apple a day -- if only in good conscience -- is a good place to start.

Make it a Good Day, G

A little research on details in the 2010 Obama budget points to a disturbing trend...the elimination of key character building tools and programs within our Department of Education. See for yourself.

The program expanded by nearly thirty percent?  Organizing for America -- youth indoctrination under the abomination of propagating the Obama mystic, ideology free of charge.

Tears for Fears, Sowing the Seeds of Love is featured on "Dear America" today, click it!