It's a Love In Thing

Dear America,

so here's vintage G, a notable quotable worthy of coming around again to start the day...

"Hope that, in future, 

all is well, 

everyone eats free, 

no one must work, 

all just sit around feeling love 

for one another."  

-- George Saunders

I love this quote.

I love this quote...because it couldn't be any more ridiculous, impossible, or unrealistic.

I love this quote...as it is plastered on the side of a brown bag, dished out by Chipotle -- easily the most expensive fast food restaurant in the neighborhood.  Why?  Because good quality is expensive, it's as simple as that; but ironically, it still can't prevent the quality of ingredients to become compromised somewhere in between the farm and table. 

 I love this quote...especially if you put it side by side with the lyrics of President Obama's favorite song of the year:  Kendrick Lamar's How Much a Dollar Cost.

How much a dollar really cost?
The question is detrimental, paralyzin' my thoughts
Parasites in my stomach keep me with a gut feeling, y'all
Gotta see how I'm chillin' once I park this luxury car
Hopping out feeling big as Mutombo
20 on pump six dirty Marcellus called me Dumbo
20 years ago, can't forget
Now I can lend 'em a ear or two how to stack these residuals
Tenfold, the liberal concept of what men'll do
20 on 6, he didn't hear me
Indigenous African only spoke Zulu
My American tongue was slurry
Walked out the gas station
A homeless man with a silly tan complexion
Asked me for ten grand
Stressin' about dry land
Deep water, powder blue skies that crack open
A piece of crack that he wanted, I knew he was smokin'
He begged and pleaded
Asked me to feed him twice, I didn't believe it
Told him, "Beat it"
Contributin' money just for his pipe, I couldn't see it
He said, "My son, temptation is one thing that I've defeated
Listen to me, I want a single bill from you
Nothin' less, nothin' more
I told him I ain't have it and closed my door
Tell me how much a dollar cost

It's more to feed your mind
Water, sun and love, the one you love
All you need, the air you breathe

He's starin' at me in disbelief
My temper is buildin', he's starin' at me, I grab my key
He's starin' at me, I started the car and tried to leave
And somethin' told me to keep it in park until I could see
A reason why he was mad at a stranger like I was supposed to save him
Like I'm the reason he's homeless and askin' me for a favor
He's starin' at me, his eyes followed me with no laser
He's starin' at me, I notice that his stare is contagious
Cause now I'm starin' back at him, feelin' some type of disrespect
If I could throw a bat at him, it'd be aimin' at his neck
I never understood someone beggin' for goods
Askin' for handouts, takin' it if they could
And this particular person just had it down pat
Starin' at me for the longest until he finally asked
Have you ever opened to Exodus 14?
A humble man is all that we ever need
Tell me how much a dollar cost

It's more to feed your mind
Water, sun and love, the one you love
All you need, the air you breathe

Guilt trippin' and feelin' resentment
I never met a transient that demanded attention
They got me frustrated, indecisive and power trippin'
Sour emotions got me lookin' at the universe different
I should distance myself, I should keep it relentless
My selfishness is what got me here, who the fuck I'm kiddin'?
So I'ma tell you like I told the last bum, crumbs and pennies
I need all of mines, and I recognize this type of panhandlin' all the time
I got better judgement, I know when nigga's hustlin'
Keep in mind, when I was strugglin', I did compromise
Now I comprehend, I smell grandpa's old medicine
Reekin' from your skin, moonshine and gin
Nigga your babblin', your words ain't flatterin', I'm imaginin'
Denzel be lookin' at O'Neal
Cause now I'm in sad thrills, your gimmick is mediocre, the jig is up
I seen you from a mile away losin' focus
And I'm insensitive, and I lack empathy
You looked at me and said, "Your potential is bittersweet"
I looked at him and said, "Every nickel is mines to keep"
He looked at me and said, "Know the truth, it'll set you free
You're lookin' at the Messiah, the son of Jehova, the higher power
The choir that spoke the word, the Holy Spirit, the nerve
Of Nazareth, and I'll tell you just how much a dollar cost
The price of having a spot in Heaven, embrace your loss, I am God"

I wash my hands, I said my grace, what more do you want from me?
Tears of a clown, guess I'm not all what is meant to be
Shades of grey will never change if I condone
Turn this page, help me change, so right my wrongs

Isn't that something. [yeah, that's a statement]

It's called how much a dollar costs, meeting up with moral authority, meeting up with the street.  I get it, Mr. President.   And yes, it may have been overkill, but I chose to give you all the words, so that you would have all the 'data' in front of you, and therby allow you to make up your own mind.  Shoot me.

I love this, the refrain:

It's more to feed your mind

Water, sun and love, the one you love

All you need, the air you breathe

Indeed.
And I, too, hope in the future, all is well, everyone eats free, no one must work, all just sit around feeling love for one another...and sounding like we are all on crack.

And now -- straight from Iowa -- here's Hillary!

"We've got to do everything we can to weed out hate and plant love and kindness," 

Isn't it rich; aren't they a pair; me here at last on the ground; you in mid-air...Send in the Clowns.

For the full tilt on the Hill, go to the AP, here.

We are moving on now, redirecting to a member of the House Homeland Security, Rep. Loretta Sanchez  D-CA (who is currently campaigning to take over Sen. Barbara Boxer's seat, as she is retiring finally). Let's just say she isn't confusing love and compassion and naivete with love and reality and eyes wide open.   Sanchez telling Larry King:

...But certainly, we know that there is a small group–and we don’t know how big that is, it can be anywhere between five and 20 percent, from the people that I speak to–that Islam is their religion and who have a desire for a caliphate and to institute that in any way possible, and in particular go after what they consider Western norms, our way of life. They are not content enough to have their way of looking at the world. They want to put their way on everybody in the world. And, again, I don’t know how big that is, and depending on who you talk to, but they’re certainly, they are willing to go to extremes. They are willing to use, and they do use, terrorism. And it is in the name of a very wrong way of looking at Islam.
I don’t fault the president on his verbiage. I want him to understand it–to go after this ISIL, ISIS, Daesh state that people are trying to form. Because it’s going after us.

A small group.

Okay, that's a start. [And thank you, Breitbart -- for the full story, go here.]

Let's take a look at this universe sans the pink fluffy unicorns, shall we, Hillary?

In it's entirety, we are looking at a percentage of nearly 2 billion Muslims around the globe, who, for the most part, are all living in love, peace and harmony, of course.  Isn't that just fabulous!  Can you feel the love?  So what are we really talking about here?

Sanchez has the guts to throw out a number.  And just to be clear, it's the number of Muslims who just might get a tickle all up and down their leg about the possibility of reaching the goal of an Islamic caliphate.  And that number is at, or around, 5 to 20%, she says.

So, Loretta, what you are saying is that anywhere from 5 to 400 million Muslims might feel inclined to kill the infidels, and they agree with the moves of ISIS/ISIL tomayto/tomahto?  That's not a whole lot of love.  That's a whole lot of hate; but more important, maybe we should alert the media.

Notable:

The United States military 

only registers at, or around, 2 million troops,

 including the reserves...

What's debatable, it would seem, is that pesky thin line between love and hate.

And finally on this day,

let's bring in how love Trumps hate, right Hillary...now nearly giddy and clinging to the new campaign pot shot like the leftist queen on crack that she is...But to ensure we are all on the same page, let's begin with what Trump actually said.

All he said was this  (and it's totally notable and quotable for this blog-able) --

 "Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on," his campaign statement said.

He wasn't asking for the Muslims who are already here, and some even being American, to go back to their home country...

He wasn't calling on the "total and complete shutdown" to last forever -- but only until such time "our country's representatives can figure out what is going on"...

"Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life," 

If anywhere from 5 million to 400 million Muslims seek the caliphate and hate infidels so much, they would systematically choose not to live in harmony, but to kill -- then wouldn't Trumps proposal be notable, quotable, reasonable, responsible and more important, doable...just until our country's representatives can figure our what in tarnation is going on... and figure out how to secure our border... and figure out how to protect Americans from every entry into the country?

Look at history....here.

The San Bernardino shooter, Tashfeen Malik, committed fraud on the famed fiance visa program to enter the United States.   

And she is just one out of anywhere from 5 to 400 million.  One down, 399 million to go?  And may I have mine with a side of chips fried in pork fat, but I digress.

And all this happening while one of our current potential presidents of these United States is insisting on meeting up with this Muslim conundrum with simply more love?

Are you kidding me?

Love may not cost a thing, but freedom isn't free; while our Constitution was designed almost entirely to protect the people from it's leaders.   And this is amusing -- as history proves time and time again, that every UNconstitutional action was often justified by a "good cause."  

Thomas Jefferson:

It would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights; that confidence is everywhere the parent of despotism; free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions to bind down those whom we are obliged to trust with power; that our Constitution has accordingly fixed the limits to which, and no farther, our confidence may go...In questions of power, then, let no more be said of confidence in man, BUT BIND HIM DOWN FROM MISCHIEF BY THE CHAINS OF THE CONSTITUTION.  [The 5000 Year Leap, p.164]

And besides, since 1952, the Immigration and Nationality Act included this little number:

“Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate,” the 1952 law states.

Boom.  Tanks, Daily Caller.  It is a thin line between love and hate...but the great divide comes about when dealing with what to do about it.  But reality tells us -- somewhere between the farm and table we have issues within our immigration/refugee/visa system and it's exhibiting a total utter breakdown in common sense, and it's hitting us squarely in the gut.

But having said all this and that  -- 

ONE might think that the peaceful, fun-loving, compassionate, moderate Muslims living in America would all wholeheartedly agree with Trump's  kind of selective reasoning on immigration.  

Some do.  And then punished promptly.

Well, as much as I love this day and hate to have to bring it to a close...albeit abruptly, it is finished.

happy friday...

don't hate and be good...

just sit around feeling love for one another...

that's really all you need,

Make it a Good Day, G

It's One Kind Day Amid the Chaos Thing

Dear America,

"Hope that, in future, 

all is well, 

everyone eats free, 

no one must work, 

all just sit around

 feeling love

 for one another."  

-- George Saunders

It was just something I read on the side of a Chipotle take-out brown bag.

And from there, my mind drifted -- separating from the overwhelming ills of the world, falling away from all the troubles, at home and abroad -- and nearly in tandem, with free abandon and wild desperation, finding myself believing that for one minute the entire notion may one day come true.

But here's the thing, I just can't think about this world, the world we actually live in today,  or this America, for one more minute without my head exploding.  Not today, not yesterday, or the day before that, and most likely as things seem to be going,  tomorrow.

Thankfully,

when looking into this George Saunders more deeply, my jaded G found a certain salvation, as if by divine intervention.

[You know how It works around here...we always get what we need.  God knows.  Matter of fact, God knows everything before we know it, before we even think it.]

so the meandering continued to a piece at The Huffington Post (April 2014), by Claire Fallon... giving a short review on George and a few thoughts on kindness...

and it was good.

really good.

Now Claire dropped in the video of George telling a story about "ellen" -- but after thinking about it for awhile, and you know, given my undying love of the written word and being a card-carrying sucker for a wee bit more kindness in this world --  I felt a total reprint here was in order. [And, you know, order over chaos always wins...eventually.]

So, as Claire directed, we go to a column by Joel Lovell, at The New York Times, dating back to last summer, George Saunders's Advice to Graduates  [and yes, truly fitting, given this is the summer of celebration of my own little graduate]:  

happy reading....

Down through the ages, a traditional form has evolved for this type of speech, which is: Some old fart, his best years behind him, who, over the course of his life, has made a series of dreadful mistakes (that would be me), gives heartfelt advice to a group of shining, energetic young people, with all of their best years ahead of them (that would be you).

And I intend to respect that tradition.

Now, one useful thing you can do with an old person, in addition to borrowing money from them, or asking them to do one of their old-time “dances,” so you can watch, while laughing, is ask: “Looking back, what do you regret?” And they’ll tell you. Sometimes, as you know, they’ll tell you even if you haven’t asked. Sometimes, even when you’ve specifically requested they not tell you, they’ll tell you.

So: What do I regret? Being poor from time to time? Not really. Working terrible jobs, like “knuckle-puller in a slaughterhouse?” (And don’t even ASK what that entails.) No. I don’t regret that. Skinny-dipping in a river in Sumatra, a little buzzed, and looking up and seeing like 300 monkeys sitting on a pipeline, pooping down into the river, the river in which I was swimming, with my mouth open, naked? And getting deathly ill afterwards, and staying sick for the next seven months? Not so much. Do I regret the occasional humiliation? Like once, playing hockey in front of a big crowd, including this girl I really liked, I somehow managed, while falling and emitting this weird whooping noise, to score on my own goalie, while also sending my stick flying into the crowd, nearly hitting that girl? No. I don’t even regret that.

But here’s something I do regret:

In seventh grade, this new kid joined our class. In the interest of confidentiality, her Convocation Speech name will be “ELLEN.” ELLEN was small, shy. She wore these blue cat’s-eye glasses that, at the time, only old ladies wore. When nervous, which was pretty much always, she had a habit of taking a strand of hair into her mouth and chewing on it.

So she came to our school and our neighborhood, and was mostly ignored, occasionally teased (“Your hair taste good?” — that sort of thing). I could see this hurt her. I still remember the way she’d look after such an insult: eyes cast down, a little gut-kicked, as if, having just been reminded of her place in things, she was trying, as much as possible, to disappear. After awhile she’d drift away, hair-strand still in her mouth. At home, I imagined, after school, her mother would say, you know: “How was your day, sweetie?” and she’d say, “Oh, fine.” And her mother would say, “Making any friends?” and she’d go, “Sure, lots.”

Sometimes I’d see her hanging around alone in her front yard, as if afraid to leave it.

And then — they moved. That was it. No tragedy, no big final hazing.

One day she was there, next day she wasn’t.

End of story.

Now, why do I regret that? Why, forty-two years later, am I still thinking about it? Relative to most of the other kids, I was actually pretty nice to her. I never said an unkind word to her. In fact, I sometimes even (mildly) defended her.

But still. It bothers me.

So here’s something I know to be true, although it’s a little corny, and I don’t quite know what to do with it:

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.

Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded . . . sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly.

Or, to look at it from the other end of the telescope: Who, in your life, do you remember most fondly, with the most undeniable feelings of warmth?

Those who were kindest to you, I bet.

It’s a little facile, maybe, and certainly hard to implement, but I’d say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than: Try to be kinder.

Now, the million-dollar question: What’s our problem? Why aren’t we kinder?

Here’s what I think:

Each of us is born with a series of built-in confusions that are probably somehow Darwinian. These are: (1) we’re central to the universe (that is, our personal story is the main and most interesting story, the only story, really); (2) we’re separate from the universe (there’s US and then, out there, all that other junk – dogs and swing-sets, and the State of Nebraska and low-hanging clouds and, you know, other people), and (3) we’re permanent (death is real, o.k., sure – for you, but not for me).

Now, we don’t really believe these things – intellectually we know better – but we believe them viscerally, and live by them, and they cause us to prioritize our own needs over the needs of others, even though what we really want, in our hearts, is to be less selfish, more aware of what’s actually happening in the present moment, more open, and more loving.

So, the second million-dollar question: How might we DO this? How might we become more loving, more open, less selfish, more present, less delusional, etc., etc?

Well, yes, good question.

Unfortunately, I only have three minutes left.

So let me just say this. There are ways. You already know that because, in your life, there have been High Kindness periods and Low Kindness periods, and you know what inclined you toward the former and away from the latter. Education is good; immersing ourselves in a work of art: good; prayer is good; meditation’s good; a frank talk with a dear friend; establishing ourselves in some kind of spiritual tradition — recognizing that there have been countless really smart people before us who have asked these same questions and left behind answers for us.

Because kindness, it turns out, is hard — it starts out all rainbows and puppy dogs, and expands to include . . . well, everything.

One thing in our favor: some of this “becoming kinder” happens naturally, with age. It might be a simple matter of attrition: as we get older, we come to see how useless it is to be selfish — how illogical, really. We come to love other people and are thereby counter-instructed in our own centrality. We get our butts kicked by real life, and people come to our defense, and help us, and we learn that we’re not separate, and don’t want to be. We see people near and dear to us dropping away, and are gradually convinced that maybe we too will drop away (someday, a long time from now). Most people, as they age, become less selfish and more loving. I think this is true. The great Syracuse poet, Hayden Carruth, said, in a poem written near the end of his life, that he was “mostly Love, now.”

And so, a prediction, and my heartfelt wish for you: as you get older, your self will diminish and you will grow in love. YOU will gradually be replaced by LOVE. If you have kids, that will be a huge moment in your process of self-diminishment. You really won’t care what happens to YOU, as long as they benefit. That’s one reason your parents are so proud and happy today. One of their fondest dreams has come true: you have accomplished something difficult and tangible that has enlarged you as a person and will make your life better, from here on in, forever.

Congratulations, by the way.

When young, we’re anxious — understandably — to find out if we’ve got what it takes. Can we succeed? Can we build a viable life for ourselves? But you — in particular you, of this generation — may have noticed a certain cyclical quality to ambition. You do well in high-school, in hopes of getting into a good college, so you can do well in the good college, in the hopes of getting a good job, so you can do well in the good job so you can . . .

And this is actually O.K. If we’re going to become kinder, that process has to include taking ourselves seriously — as doers, as accomplishers, as dreamers. We have to do that, to be our best selves.

Still, accomplishment is unreliable. “Succeeding,” whatever that might mean to you, is hard, and the need to do so constantly renews itself (success is like a mountain that keeps growing ahead of you as you hike it), and there’s the very real danger that “succeeding” will take up your whole life, while the big questions go untended.

So, quick, end-of-speech advice: Since, according to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving: Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now. There’s a confusion in each of us, a sickness, really: selfishness. But there’s also a cure. So be a good and proactive and even somewhat desperate patient on your own behalf — seek out the most efficacious anti-selfishness medicines, energetically, for the rest of your life.

Do all the other things, the ambitious things — travel, get rich, get famous, innovate, lead, fall in love, make and lose fortunes, swim naked in wild jungle rivers (after first having it tested for monkey poop) – but as you do, to the extent that you can, err in the direction of kindness. Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial. That luminous part of you that exists beyond personality — your soul, if you will — is as bright and shining as any that has ever been. Bright as Shakespeare’s, bright as Gandhi’s, bright as Mother Teresa’s. Clear away everything that keeps you separate from this secret luminous place. Believe it exists, come to know it better, nurture it, share its fruits tirelessly.

And someday, in 80 years, when you’re 100, and I’m 134, and we’re both so kind and loving we’re nearly unbearable, drop me a line, let me know how your life has been. I hope you will say: It has been so wonderful.

Congratulations, Class of 2013.

I wish you great happiness, all the luck in the world, and a beautiful summer.

and to think, this all started with one really damn good Barbacoa burrito with extra guacamole...

Make it a Good Day, G