C.G.Ayling

Category: Heavy Stuff

This is where you’ll find my musing’s about matters, of substance.

  • Love vs. Hate

    In humanity, the theme of opposing forces appears often.  Is this because we’re drawn to conflict?  Or perhaps because we hold Newton’s third law, “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”, to hold greater truth than its description of the purely physical?

    Though I’m inclined to believe it’s both, the second holds an elegant truth the first lacks.  Look at love versus hate.

    Love know no limits, it expands the heart.  You can’t run out of love, there’s always enough left to wrap another within its warmth.  The more love you give, the more you have to spare.

    Hate is compulsive and single-minded.  It focuses you, limiting you by shriveling your heart.  The more intensely you hate, the less capacity you have for compassion and love.

    Equal, and opposite?

  • Chosen Soldier

    I’m in the process of reading a very interesting book called “Chosen Soldier”, by Dick Couch.  It details the selection process and the initial training that goes into the making of a Green Beret.  Green Berets are one of the US Elite Special Forces, and are held in high esteem both within and outside the USA.  Make no mistake, these men are highly skilled and highly regarded by anyone with a military background.

    Now, I expect you’re wondering why I’m reading this material?  What does it have to do with Malmaxa?

    Well, I consider myself a student of human nature. I find the motivations people have for doing things often to be of greater interest than the things they do.  I look back on my youth when I served in an army I believe was the best in the world at what it did.  We were young, patriotic and motivated to defend our country.  Before going on a patrol in which I had a premonition of dying, I once wrote a line by Horace in my personal diary.  It read “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori”.  Like many premonitions it was proven wrong.  However that is not the point.

    So, what is the point then?  Well, put simply, it is that when I entered military service I truly believed that quote – it was the principle motivator for my volunteering for service before my allotted time came.  Others I knew dodged the bullet by avoiding or delaying service.  Back then, I held them in low esteem.  Today, I simply accept that they saw things differently than I saw things.  Where I believed I was serving the greater good, they believed otherwise. It saddens me to say that I now believe they were more right than I was.

    Perhaps neither of us was right, and neither of us was wrong.  We just weren’t on the same team.

    Nowadays I am adamantly opposed to war, yet I am even more opposed to injustice.  Please do not hold the volunteer servicemen and women of any country in low esteem.  They truly do serve their people.  The ones deserving of your derision are those in power who are willing to sacrifice the lives of these honorable soldiers in unjust wars. And yes, I firmly believe war is never just.

    In case you haven’t already looked up the translation of Horace’s quote, and even if you have, here is mine “Sweet it is, and fitting, for one’s country to die.”  In Malmaxa there is conflict. There is a war in which people fight and die. And just like here on this planet we inhabit and treat with no respect, the inhabitants of Malmaxa and do not know or ask why there is war.

    If you are drawn to National Service then by all means serve your compatriots with pride and honor.  But do not serve blindly without question, while believing yourself to be without blame.

  • Bullying

    A snippet of conversation started on Jacky Gray’s blog prompted me to post this.  Perhaps as a soul-cleansing…

    Though I was never bullied, as a youth I saw it going on all around me, and – I am now ashamed to say – I simply turned a blind eye to it.  I have long since changed and have spent a lot of effort with all of my kids, ensuring that they will never stand quietly by while others are mistreated.  I’m proud to say they have come to me on many occasions, informing about this kind of behavior (though when my youngest was the victim of bullying she never told us – strange how that works).  In my turn I’ve ensured that the school boards get to learn about it.  Sadly, that seems to be the only way to stop bullying dead in its tracks – too many teachers do nothing about it.

    That bullying can be so pervasive in our supposedly enlightened society is frightening.

    The worst thing about bullying is that kids are still taught the same old garbage they were when I went to school forty years ago – “bullies are cowards who feel bad about themselves, and take out their inadequacy on others.”  Pardon my French, but that is a load of absolute codswallop – bullies are arrogant turds who firmly believe they are better than their victims.  They feel no remorse for their actions and when their victims break down and call for help these bullies attempt to rally support for their abhorrent behavior by calling their victims “snitches” or similar.

    Bullies do not deserve the pity of their peers. Which is precisely what statements like “bullies feel bad about themselves” encourages.

    What bullies deserve is to be called to the front of the class where they should be compelled to explain precisely why they think their behavior is acceptable.  Unfortunately that is not going to happen, probably because the bullies parents won’t allow it.  This makes one wonder exactly where the arrogant belief that they are better than their victims originates, doesn’t it?

    Why do schools bother having policies about bullying, when teachers and people in positions of influence do nothing to enforce it?  It is very easy to pay lip-service with a written policy.  It is altogether much harder to change a culture that ignores injustice.

  • Election 2012 – post-partum, Exhilaration?

    OK, so I lied when I said that last post was “the end”. If the politicians can get away with such blatant twisting or the truth, then so can I. {Actually, I do, but my twisting is in fun and bears no malice – least most of the time…}

    Anyway, fear not, no more up on the high-horse preaching like there’ll be no tomorrow. Tomorrow is here, and it deserves a few additional thoughts before we all move along with our lives and forget about politics for another 4 years {which would be very foolish}.

    These tweets are my post Election 2012 thoughts. Enjoy them, or not, as you choose.

    Though the candidate I voted for won, I’m more relieved than happy.

    Democracy wins, but the people lose. The future, negative ads, extreme candidates, divide and conquer, is set – again.

    This election is not cause for celebration, but proof of the need for reconciliation.

    It’s not the opposition who are evil, it’s the hidden, unaccountable super PACs – time to get rid of them.

    @echojustice thank you for that insight. You’re right, and thankfully Barack Obama is a man willing to make the first approach.

    There is no us, and them – there is only “we”. We need you, our Statesman, to show us reconciliation and a clear way forward. @BarackObama

    I hope the President steps up to the plate, hits a home-run, and brings us all to our feet – one nation, united once more. @BarackObama

    I don’t anticipate the President actually reading those last tweets, that would presume too much. However, saying them is satisfying enough. Though I selected Barack Obama on my ballot, it was not a vote cast for him, but one cast against Mitt Romney and the terrible social injustice the Republican Party revealed would be our lot “beneath” them, should they win.
    Now the election is finally over, I’m getting more hopeful our Statesman {and Barack Obama is certainly that} will step into the position of leadership he deserves. If he does, he’ll have my full support.

    Thanks for visiting. To see the more usual “Twitter-side” of my multifaceted Gemini personality, head on over here.

  • Election 2012 – This end, is nigh.

    This is it, I’m done, and then some…

    Filling your coffers, while workers you lay off struggle to fill their bellies – the deeds of a dishonorable man. #election2012

    I don’t believe in demonizing the “opposition”, but demonizing the deserving? I have no problem with that, Mr. Romney. #election2012

    Flip-flop, on **everything**, except foreign policy – where there seemed to be an echo… Which candidate do I mean? #election2012

    {but Romney looks presidential, so he deserves to win?} {what a strange place is this USA}. #election2012

    My messages sponsored by Logic and Sanity, in an insane world. Not affiliated to any party, or candidate, #election2012 http://bit.ly/CGe2012

    Oxymoron: “Romney/Ryan” placard, alongside “Support Education” – on the same lawn. #election2012

    Separation of church and state – inviolate. Yet each election, one party smears this line {which}. #obama2012 #election2012

    Am I the only one who finds the media’s predilection to polls, pathetic? Do they never listen to their hearts? #election2012

    Seriously, what do I care that there are so many who rely on others to think for them {AKA VoteAlongPartyLines}? #election2012

    The privacy of our homes should remain sacrosanct – without due cause, the government has no place within. #election2012

    Lest we forget – the “Patriot Act, 2001, GOP”, obliterate our civil right to privacy, in a foul blow. #election2012

    Let me get one thing straight. I am anti-abortion. However, I am Pro-Choice. The two can mix, and be one. #election2012

    {steps off pulpit}. Please vote with your conscience & Logic, not with a party. #election2012 My personal views? http://bit.ly/CGe2012

    The End.

    {Let’s hope for a happy one}

  • Election 2012, the Home Stretch.

    The home stretch, I hope. Soon this horrible election will end, and life will return to its normal difficulty. How I long for the “good old days”, of struggling to make my stagnant income stretch to cover my mortgage {a different, and far more preferable type of “home stretch”}.

    I comfort myself, “bleeding contrary followers, is good” – it isn’t. Little is learnt from exposure to the like-minded.

    @middengem thank you for distracting me from my distress. This election is building stress, while devouring delight. #election2012

    Speaking of liberty, how is it that our civil liberties erode beneath republican rule – and no one whispers a word? #election2012

    Draw your rabid tongue into your head, there is no need, for what you said. @ToddAkin #election2012

    Time for me to shed more of the unlike-minded, who hold contrary thought as valueless – I will miss you, every one. #election2012

    Close your minds, now. Though I despise politics, and politicians even more, there are things I must say. #election2012

    To both parties – you may keep your radical rhetoric, your partial lies, your untruth truths. Logic serves us better. #election2012

    The world, and the USA, is not filled with “us”, and “them” – it is filled with people. Stop dividing us. #election2012

    Transparency: FEIGNING contrition for past misdeeds. {pick your politician of choice, they all use this tactic} #election2012

    Voting because of religion? Emigrate to Egypt, where they so recently did. #election2012

    Sorry, to fill you with false hope, however, the end is nigh.

  • Election 2012, part B {Medicaid}.

    Obama, the man who cried wolf, and cried wolf again, now sits, bewildered by our rage. #election2012

    Romney, a robber baron, radical in view, quick with a caring smile, hiding harsh words behind his hands. #election2012

    Spin Doctor: a smarter voice for the dimwit whose mistakes are being covered with clever words. #election2012

    If you haven’t yet voted, and you don’t, thank none save yourself for future failure.

    With Obama we’re looking at a long, rough ride – to escape the pit Bush dug. #election2012

    With Romney, still more middle class capital will transition to the ultra-wealthy – they don’t have it all, yet. #election2012

    My VERY reluctant choice? Obama – better four more years with him than four minutes with Romney “trickling down” on us all. #election2012

    Make no mistake, I didn’t vote for Obama – I voted against Romney. #election2012

    Let the hemorrhaging begin! #election2012

    Here, is the final chapter, in this sorry tale.

  • Election 2012, pre-concluded.

    Think how you’ll feel when you find out your candidate of choice lost, thanks to your not voting. #election2012

    Anyone think George W. Bush served us well? {nervous silence} Yet we’ll risk a rinse and repeat, with more radical Romney? #election2012

    Logic’s Twisting Trail: all life is divinely granted, so no abortion for rape, so rape is divinely ordained. Wait! What? #election2012

    No matter how firm your beliefs, compelling others to your view is wrong. #election2012

    Want more of the same Bush based disasters, as the past? Then vote for Romney, more radical, in every way. #election2012

    Hiding behind a “blind trust”, is a shabby shield for questionable choices. #election2012

    Think Romney is right for you? Do you deserve to be trickled down on for four years? Perhaps, but what of us? #election

    “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.” Don’t doom us, by repeating a more radical Bush – namely, Romney. #election2012

    Politics is the language of crooks and con-men, yet the sound of quiescent silence is far worse. #election2012

    How can anyone believe a robber baron, proven to profit from pillaging those poorer, will be on their side? #election2012

    Before allowing your religious bias to sway your vote, re-consider Egypt – they recently chose that path. #election2012

    Onward! The Home Stretch approaches.

  • My views, on Election 2012.

    My views are my truths, phrased as I see them.  I need to express them, I consider the stakes in this election simply too high to sit by.  The thought of what will befall the people of the USA, should the wrong man win – well, it distresses me gravely.

    For my more usual Twitter fare, go here.

    OK, I’ll begin by being upfront – I’m an Independent, and consider myself a Liberal Conservative. What I think that means, is elsewhere.

    Forgive me my political views, for my intent is to trespass against many, yet if I make but one think… I shall be content.

    I’m sick of fractured, divisive politics – I want a centrist candidate who’ll SERVE us all, not their own special interests. #election2012

    Please, share YOUR views, not the regurgitated political spew fostered by the mass media. #election2012

    Robber Baron: a wealthy, unscrupulous person who profits by pillaging from those with less resources. #election2012

    To Cry Wolf: yell the end is nigh! unless you vote for a massive new spending program, no time to think do it right now! #election2012

    To Relinquish Responsibility: vote strictly along party lines, let the lunatic fringe dictate how you should think. #election2012

    Want a radical republican in office? I don’t. No more than I want a radical democrat. Give me a Centrist – please. #election2012

    Despot: one who’ll inflict their delusional beliefs on the citizenry, completely certain “it’s for their own good”. #election2012

     

    The sorry saga, of #Election2012, continues here.