Wednesday, December 24, 2014

‘PEACE ON EARTH – GOOD WILL TO ALL’

Perhaps you are familiar with the hymn LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH. . .and let it begin with me.  The words should strike a resounding chord in the hearts of every person, whether they be Christian, Jew, Islamic, Buddhist, Baha’i, atheist, agnostic, etc.  After all, we are all one with humanity, are we not? 

The presumption that we share the same ideals – that we are all equal, all deserve to be treated with dignity and all share the same civil rights is unfortunately Pollyannic.

Where we fail as a species compared to others including predators, is our frequent obsession with our own selfish desires, hoarding material goods, raking in billions of dollars, ‘doing whatever it takes’ to beat those we see as our competitors.  Unlike other predatory species who consume other life forms merely to survive, human predators base their consumptions on greed, power, and devouring those whom they believe stand in their way.

Our founding fathers established a democratic union based on equality and justice for all.  Few Americans have ever read the entire U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Constitutional amendments passed since our nation’s founding, most especially Republicans, Tea Party and Libertarian legislators and self-absorbed citizens.

To be against government, yet run for office like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ron Paul, etc. is not only ludicrous but completely hypocritical. If they actually believed in our ‘Government of the people, by the people, and for the people’ they wouldn’t be so tightly tied to corporate moguls like the Koch Brothers, big oil, gas, coal, and dangerous chemical manufacturers.  Rather they would pass legislation requiring the wealthiest to pay their fair share of taxes, prohibit sending jobs overseas, outlaw savings accounts outside our shores, and the myriad of loopholes greedy corporate CEOs enjoy at the expense of the middle class and extremely poor (the other 99%). 

Peace on Earth requires the passage of broad immigration reform, full integration of our communities, police forces, judicial systems, city, state, and national legislatures, places of worship, corporate management, etc.

Peace on Earth mandates abandoning hate, color lines, establishing a complete overhaul of our judicial system throughout our cities, states, and our nation's capital.  

Peace on Earth cries out for pro-active, progressive, liberal democratic education, peaceful protests, the removal of money from politics, complete separation of church and state, ending white supremacist organizations and media that spread only hate, violence and division.

One cannot practice ‘an eye for an eye,’ if Peace on Earth is to exist.  Peace on Earth cannot occur where state legislatures violate the U.S. Constitution by implanting religion into social studies textbooks, prohibiting women from accessing the same healthcare as men, forbidding women from earning the same wages as their male counterparts, and refusing to raise the minimum wage so that all Americans can be lifted up out of poverty.

The ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, NAACP, LULAC, AFLCIO and the American people must file a law suit against the Texas State Board of Education for merging religion into our state adopted social studies textbooks, listing Regan as the best president ever, eliminating the truth about slavery, The Alamo, and the election of Barack Obama.  Moreover, we need to file law suits against every state legislature and governor who passes laws prohibiting access to Affordable Healthcare (Obama Care), the right to vote, etc.

Since when did our Constitution grant individual states the right to side-step our U.S. Constitution?  Are we not these United States of America?  Republicans, Tea Party and Libertarian legislators don’t see it that way.

Peace on Earth has no room for the constant and historic murder of Black men and youth, state judicial systems that permit grand juries to determine the fate of those who commit the murders, be they members of a police force, or the ‘Stand Your Ground,’ racists.

Peace on Earth harbors no place for the divisive false accusations against Mayor DeBlasio by PBA President Patrick Lynch.  Clearly Lynch can’t see the forest for the trees.  His words instigated an unwarranted community division between the office of the mayor and the Latino and Asian communities.  What sort of mayor would have ignored the blatant violation of civil rights toward Mr. Garner, resulting in his death at the hands of a NY cop, while six others stood silently by doing nothing to bring about justice?  He had to speak out as to the necessity for racial and sensitivity training throughout all law enforcement

Are you aware that Black police officers fear retaliation from other cops if they speak out against internal racism?  I suggest you research this topic.

The murder of the two New York police officers was not the fault of Mayor DeBlasio, but a mentally ill man, who had a history of violence and attempted suicide.  He did not have any gang affiliations as right-wing talk shows spout.  He approached three guys just before he shot the police officers, asking them what their gang affiliation was.  He may have been raised Islamic, but his actions did not reflect the faith of Islam practiced by most throughout the world. Just as we have right-wing religious extremist zealots who incite hate, yet call themselves Christians, so too does every faith have their share.  That doesn’t mean that the majority of faith-based Christians, Jews, or Islamics are dangerous.

Peace on Earth holds no place for pointing fingers, false accusations, painting every person with the same brush who is other than white, or those of a faith other than Christian.  In other words, Peace on Earth can only exist when hate mongers like Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Bill O’Reilly, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mitch McConnell, Rick Perry, Gregg Abbott, Dan Patrick, Scott Walker, PBA President Patrick Lynch, and the majority of GOP/Tea Party legislators throughout this land are out of office, and their corrupt corporate puppeteers are removed from the election process.

The primary and greatest danger to Peace on Earth are those who refuse to open their hearts and minds to the whole truth, preferring to wear mental horse-blinders, dwelling in a world of ignorance, closed-minds, spawning hate and violence against their fellow humans.  Their blindness has nothing to do with sight, but distorted minds following corrupt corporate and extreme right-wing media blather.  They are easily brainwashed, because their intellectual capacity for exploration and discovery is non-existent.

The secondary leading threat to Peace on Earth are the complacent, apathetic, uninvolved populace who put their selfies, reality-TV, Instagrams, and social lives above the good of all others.  These are the individuals who don’t vote, don’t participate, and are too self-absorbed to care about the utilitarian good of all, the preservation of our Constitutional Civil Rights which guarantee equality and justice for all.  These selfish wonders often include some educators, nurses, physicians, and other professionals, who don’t understand the workings of our democratic republic, and the import of voting.  Like Nero, who played while Rome burned as an enormous fire ravaged Rome over six days, destroying 70% of the city, leaving half the population homeless, these complacent souls are too busy texting, socializing, shopping, etc. to donate even a few hours a week 
toward restoring our civil rights, electing those who represent real democracy, and voting in every city, state, and national election.

If our founding fathers had chosen to live as two-thirds of nation now do, ignoring the destruction of our democratic republic, the United States would not have been born.

Perhaps I am far more passionate than many about equality, justice for all, restoring and preserving our Constitutional Civil rights, which can ultimately bring about Peace on Earth.  I am thankful for the hundreds of friends who have joined me in working toward these goals.  There are millions more like us, and for those of you reading this, who have yet to join us, do so now.

A peaceful existence requires unrelenting work, dedication, devotion and passion.  

Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on Earth, 
the peace that was meant to be.  . .
To take each moment, and live each moment  in peace eternally, 
let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.

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