Labeling

I’m rambling today. Forgive me.

What was it that was so good about growing up in the 1950s and 1960s? Was it our ignorance that since has proven that “ignorance is bliss”? In those days we didn’t have to label everything and there didn’t have to be someone to blame for everything that happened. That’s why accidents are called accidents. And we didn’t have to label every problem, condition, everything!

For instance, the schools (whose teachers have been glorified as the saviors of students everywhere who have ever learned to read or interact in society—another story for another day), it appears, are all about getting more of those almighty dollars to expand and reach for those “state-of-the-art” districts that are so prevalent, if not prestigious. Well, so they want us to believe. Somehow I thought the cliquish stuff of high school was left behind by adults. Boy, was I wrong about that one!

My grandson is a delightful 5-year-old who so looked forward to going to kindergarten last year. He couldn’t wait to get there and begin to learn things like reading and writing and playing with other children. His mother is a daycare provider. He’s grown up around other children and learned to extend the same family values and attitudes toward those other children that he has been taught at home and at church. (Yes, I said church, a place too many children don’t understand because they haven’t been inside of one.) They are at the house so much they truly are part of the family!

But there have been issues. On the bus another little boy was kicking and punching my grandson. It was bullying, for sure. My daughter went to school and demanded the bullying be stopped. Then there was the boy who hated Sponge Bob, which was the design on my grandson’s backpack. With the pack on his back, this other boy was punching Sponge Bob. What the heck is that all about??? THEN, there was the other kindergartener who said to my grandson, “I hate you. I’m going to kill you.” Are we kidding??? Absolutely not acceptable! The teacher seemed to know these things were going on but nothing could be done to stop it? How’s that for a school district in a county who SAYS it has a zero tolerance for bullying?

So, the speech and hearing therapist at my grandson’s school took it upon herself to advise my daughter that she suspected my grandson is AD/HD and should be medicated for it. When my daughter went to the parent-teacher conferences, the teacher said, “Oh, we’ve decided he’s not AD/HD. We suspect it is Asperger’s.” She gave my daughter a list of symptoms and advised referring to the family physician. Because it’s all on paper, she has to follow through on the investigation to prove that our little guy is NOT suffering Asperger’s.

So, she took him to see the doctor. AD/HD? No. Asperger’s? Brandon??? No way. And he’s proceeding with the paperwork to finish the matter.

What we know for certain is that the school environment has caused this child to be more timid, less confident, and to hate school. So there’s something to be said about homeschooling. A child is less likely to be bullied at the school setting, cowed by teachers who want all little people to fit in their little round holes and stifling creativity. Well, I’ve been saying that for years.

Now see me going to my personal library and pulling from the shelf that heavy, thick, many-paged book that is going to educate me about The Dumbing Down of America. I am angry, to say the least. Congressmen are dropping left and right because of what they are SAYING are abuses of their position and power. I keep remembering, though, something my parents always said: "When someone has your attention with their right hand, you better be looking to see what the other hand is doing."

Yeah. I do that and I don’t like what I see.

Corruption isn’t just at the highest offices in the land. I perceive it to be a pyramid that “politicians” climb with personal agendas and certainly not what is “of the people, by the people and for the people.” To be completely frank, here, I am skeptical enough these days to think that always was a sham, a lie to make everyone feel better. There are a lot of good people “out there,” but there are as many bad, I suspect. But maybe that happens when things get so complicated. And looking at the national debt, the horrible main streets in our town and on the highways of this county I know things are complicated. And knowing that there are people who retired from their government jobs but still hold those jobs so they get PAID PENSION AND SALARY…jobs that should go to other people who need A PAYCHECK (another story for another day?) …yeah…today I am not happy about what I’m seeing.

But there are some encouraging events, like former Alaska governor Sarah Palin resigning for, as yet unrevealed reasons…and Senator Bayh who resigned from Congress, not because of disgraceful behavior but because he couldn’t work with a Congress that isn’t doing its job representing the U.S. citizenry. Those two folks have spoken volumes to me.

Wouldn’t be surprised if my brakes fail or my car blows up.

©2010 Cathy Thomas Brownfield

Casting stones

Today Tiger Woods read a statement for the public. As I heard it, the press wasn't permitted. And it seems like everyone in the media had to get in on the act of criticizing the man for NOT answering questions they think are pertinent to our society. I couldn't believe it was THE top story of the day for CBS Evening News.

I heard a remark about him failing as a role model for young people. And that caused me to remember a story from the Bible.

A woman was dragged from an adulterous encounter. The man she was encountering was not brought for punishment. Someone named Jesus was there as the crowd gathered to stone the woman for committing an act of adultery. Jesus spoke to the crowd, The one who was without sin should cast the first stone. He knelt down and drew in the dirt for a time. When he stood up again he asked where were her accusers. They all had dropped their stones and walked away because they all were guilty of sin.

Is sin measured in degrees? Is one kind of sin more sinful than another? Or does all sin fall short of the glory of God?

The man apologized for his failures. It's not uncommon for those who rise to fame rapidly aren't prepared for the notoriety, the money, the position, and get into trouble. But to come out before the world and say, "I cheated, I know I disappointed a lot of people, but I am committed to getting the help I need, to do the work I have ahead of me, to try to become a better man," well, maybe that's not such a role model after all. What more does the media want from him?

What more could anyone really ask of him? He's telling people everywhere, "You may fall short and make terrible mistakes, but you can change your life for the better." That's a pretty strong lesson in this day and age when so many people--all ages--feel like failures and need to hear someone tell them that their failures can be turned into victories.

Does it matter what is between that husband and wife? Entertainment Tonight probably will beat it to death as they usually do, every day for as long as they can. Which is why I don't waste electricity on that show. Some matters are personal and private and not public domain. Do we really need the gorey details? If it was our life, our family, would we want all the details poured out publicly? Seems to me there's a fine line here between privacy and the peoples' right to know.

Personally, leave the Woods family alone to work out their issues. The one who has not sinned should throw the first stone.


(c) 2010 Cathy Thomas Brownfield

Gripe of the day?

My mother had some thoughts on the concepts of that title.

Count your blessings instead of your problems and you will be happier.

Every cloud has a silver lining if you're patient enough to wait for it.

Let a smile be your umbrella. (I remember the old, old song!)

When you laugh, the world laughs with you. When you cry, you cry alone.

So I tend not to think about griping much. It just occurs before I notice. But it's not that I want to gripe today. It's more a pondering. On a writer list there was a discussion about the latest vampire literature craze. I guess, when I think about it, it's not unusual to try to 'read into' the stuff we read. Surely everything must have a psychologial meaning, right? I'm not so sure about that.

I am a writer. I am a writer of fiction. While I do like to use one thing to represent something else sometimes, I keep going back to something my friend Maureen has said numerous times, "Just write a good story." another friend, Janet, said, "Write the kinds of stories you like to read." And even SK (Stephen King) advises, "Write what you know."

Pondering comments about the toxicity of vampires, at first I thought those remarks were narrow-minded. But, if they are the stories that the reader doesn't like, well, it's reasonable to conclude that they don't have to read them. Another conclusion: even if they don't like the themes of the Twilight stories, the stories elicit remarks, make people use their gray matter to think. THAT is what 'good' writing is all about!

I don't think we have to write with psychological intent. I think it just happens as we write about facets of life that involve the human psyche naturally. The knowledge and skills the reader has will determine her or his interpretations. And always, it seems, the writer is expressing her or his opinions based on his or her experiences. Thus, everything is political.

Politics: the total complex of relations between people living in society. (Just one of a long list of definitions.

So, my gripe isn't really a gripe. I'm not sure I'm even writing a political statement.

(c) 2010 Cathy Thomas Brownfield
All rights reserved -- Contact author for permission to use.

The Heart of the Matter

Five years ago "Tom," a minister, required a heart transplant. I suppose a lot of people had trouble understanding how such a bad thing could happen to a "man of the Cloth."

Last June (2009) a friend, "Jay" took seriously, life-threateningly, ill. I guess he's been ill for as long as I've known him, but being the way I am, I didn't want to think about that. "You can't give up," I would advise. The remainder of the year was a challenge for "Jay" and his wife. They learned that he will require a heart transplant to live. When they told me of this, I immediately contacted "Tom" in West Virginia, and asked him to talk to "Jay" in North Carolina. He did.

"The worst thing about a heart transplant," said "Tom," "is what you're going through right now."

The world got a little smaller when "Jay" learned that his sister's neighbor had a heart transplant 10 years ago and is still going strong. He is encouraged.

I remember when the first artificial heart surgery was done in South Africa, wasn't it? Then there was the first human to human heart transplant. Dr. Christiaan Barnard (Nov. 8, 1922-Sept. 2, 2001) performed the first kidney transplant in South Africa in October 1967 and the first successful human to human heart transplant Dec. 3, 1967. Dorothy Fisher was the first black recipient, and lived for 12-1/2 years after her transplant in 1969. Dirk van Zyl lived 23 more years following his heart transplant in 1971. Barnard's brother, Marius, was his "right hand man in cardiac surgery." The source I referred to advises that he did not die of a heart attack, but of a severe asthma attack.

That technology continues to improve, I believe there are plenty of reasons for "Jay" to be encouraged to have the heart transplant and live a long life, dancing at his youngest granddaughter's wedding when she grows up.

(c) 2010 Cathy Thomas Brownfield
All rights reserved -- Contact author for permission to use.

Future

What will be happening 10-10-10? I ask only because I just wrote 1-1-10 and thought about that Chinese thing about the meanings of dates that are the same, day, month and year: 10-10-10 But I suppose if something bad happens on 10 Oct. 2010, the gestapo will come for me. If something good happens, someone else more important than me will get the credit.

Not only is Uncle Sam putting full body scanners in airports, which is a violation of my civil rights, an invasion of my privacy!, the Blair-Holt Bill before Congress will take our guns, put us in jail and put our families at the mercy of criminals and government powers, completely taking away our freedoms. When I say "us" I am speaking generally. I do not have an arsenal in my possession.

My husband and I were talking about Blair-Holt. He expects that nothing will come of this because when the government starts taking guns from honest citizens, there will be a civil war with bloodshed. I don't want people to die! I said. Well, he said, that's what happens when you go to war. People die. But, I want to protect my children and my grandchildren! I want them to live to old age and enjoy their lives.

But I know what he says is true. When there is cause for war, war happens. When war happens, people die, there is bloodshed. And heartbreak for the lost lives that may have gone on to do great things for our people had they not become the fallen.

I'm not convinced that the global neighborhood is a good thing. At all. I'm not a feminist. I'm not a revolutionary. I'm not a rebel. I'm concerned.

(c) 2010 Cathy Thomas Brownfield
All rights reserved -- Contact author for permission to use.

Where I'm from

My name is Cathy, a common, simple name, not short for anything. My skin is light. My people come from Western Europe, Great Britain. I am flesh and blood born of my "white" parents. I have the mind of an intelligent human being, the compassion of a Jew of Middle Eastern descent we call Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the heart of a God-fearing woman. As humanity struggles with equality of races, those like me must not let our culture, our legacy be forgotten for we are worthy, too. What is equality?

While those who are different than me speak with bitterness and hatred against my people, my culture, they want us to generously give our support to their cause. Where is equality there? And why do they hold against me what generations before me--those over whom I have no influence--did? In the countries of our roots, was there discrimination? What was equality there? What did my people suffer there?

While a Moroccan man received a doctorate degree and teaches at an American university, he is vocal in speaking of his hatred of America, of patriotism, to his students, belittling a woman of maturity who dares to say, "I love my country where you have the right to speak your thoughts without fear the Thought Police will take you away, never to be seen or heard from again." If he hates America so much, why is he here?

While women of color have been labeled "mules of society," why am I made to feel ashamed when I, a white woman, say I understand the plight of women of color because women of poverty have fought the war of poverty, the social cliques that condescend to them? Why am I made to feel ashamed, as if I can't understand what it means to be deemed unworthy. Where is equality there?

What is equality? Merriam-Webster advises:

* of the same measure, quantity, value, quality, number, degree or status as another.
* impartial; free from extremes.
* able to cope with a situation or task.

The heart of a child does not know racism, is color blind. And a mother informs her children that "hate" is an emotion too ugly to understand. She will never tolerate a child of hers hating another human being. Disagree, she said. Forgive. Do not hold grudges, she said. If flesh is removed, can you tell what color was the surface? When a man gives his life for his compatriots, does color have any significance?

Two women argued over a child.
"This is MY child," said one.
"No! It is MY child," said the other.
They went to King Solomon to have him resolve the matter.
"Cut the child in two and give half to each woman," he ordered.
"No!" screamed the true mother who would rather give up her child than have the child killed.
And this was how King Solomon knew which was the true mother.

Oh, compassionate heart. Why need you fear? We are one nation under God. Even in the global neighborhood, we are one nation under God...one Supreme Being over all God's children. Peace be with you.

(c) 2009 Cathy Thomas Brownfield
All rights reserved -- Contact author for permission to use.