Consequences

Do you ever start to do something, then think, “This is a bad idea”? Is it courage or stupidity that causes you to plunge ahead?

Do you ponder where you want to be in a month, six months, a year, five years?

Do you let fear get in the way of reaching those goals?

“There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.” Who said that? Why?

There are consequences for our actions. What if our consequences are different—and worse—than we expect? What if they are better than we expect?

Sometimes we don’t listen to the little voice inside, even when it’s right spot on. Sometimes we do.

© 2013 ~ Cathy Thomas Brownfield ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Melting Pot

I was driving in my car, thinking about how diverse society has become. There is no common ground. It’s not about “our people” now. It’s about cultures of people: Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, African Americans…We have forgotten about “the melting pot.”

I’m told that the color of my skin—white—has given me unfair advantage over others who do not have white skin. It’s even been suggested to me that I need to experience the disadvantage of being lesser on the Great Chain of Being, as if I don’t already know about segregation.

When I was in about sixth grade, a new family moved to town. One of the children was assigned to my class. She missed school one day because she was ill. I took her homework to her door. I wasn’t allowed to talk to her. Her mother politely thanked me. We were never allowed to be friends. I suspect it was because I was the daughter of a laborer who had only an eighth grade education. My family wasn’t “good enough” for that family. I made the leap from that point to, “So I must not be good enough.”

My mother must have experienced something similar. She was at church with the other ladies. They were talking about the refreshments they would serve at Vacation Bible School. Mom told them what she would provide. Frances thanked her for the offer, “But I was talking to the ‘regular’ women.” My mother thought she was one of them until that day, that moment, when she learned she was not.

It’s not about the differences in color, unless it’s the color of the individual’s glasses. It’s about the “haves” and the “have-nots.” The sting of rejection because you “aren’t good enough” can happen to anyone. The burden of being the “ass of society” is not on black women. It’s on poor women. It doesn’t matter what color she is. If she is poor, she is burdened with everything that is wrong because she has no way, no resources, to change anything, including her status in this world.

It is SUPPOSED TO BE about “we, the people,” not “we, the white/black/red/purple/green people. “ It’s not about “we, the English/Irish/Italian/Hispanic/Chinese/Indian” people.  It’s SUPPOSED TO BE “We, the People,” the “melting pot” known as the United States of America.

© 2013 Cathy Thomas Brownfield ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Aggression

I’m supposed to be a lady.

I’m supposed to do what’s “right.”

I’m supposed to be loyal and true.

I’m supposed to be a lot of things. But what about everyone else, especially the bullies in my world? Can I just say that I am a reasonable person. I am not that hard to get along with! I have no problem showing respect TO THOSE WHO HAVE EARNED IT. But if you walk on me, I will meet you face-to-face, prepared to do battle if I must. If you try to rule me, you will meet resistance. If you act with aggression toward me, well, we shall see.

Bullies are nothing new to me. They are everywhere, and, I suspect, in every culture. There always will be someone who thinks (s)he is better than someone else, and to cause them to prey on those they perceive to be weak. The only thing I can do about bullying is my own.  Am I bullying the neighbor who is pushing his way over the property line to the property my spouse and I have been paying payments to own for 18 years? Am I bullying the little kids next door when they taunt my dogs and I tell them to stop? When someone calls my “do not call” number and I ask, “Where did you get my number,” and they say they have an automatic dialer is it wrong that I am angry that they think that is a legitimate reason to violate my “do not call” order? When someone—say a bill collector—calls my house and I tell them I can’t help them today, is it wrong for me to get angry when they press me to “take care of this today” when I have already said I can’t pay that bill at that time? And they disrespectfully press me to pay over the phone when I have said, “I don’t have the money for that today.”

I suppose they are being paid on a commission basis, however many people they can bully into paying their debt nets them a percentage?  Do they realize that there was some help for us to fall below our ability to handle our debt? The U.S. Government has been instrumental in creating economic disaster for everyone in this country. But, of course, we are selective about who we ‘bail out.’ 

The 12-Step program used by Gamblers Anonymous says: Gamblers Anonymous ought never endorse, finance or lend the Gamblers Anonymous name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.  Every Gamblers Anonymous Group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. Congress should have a similar set of guidelines and stop the lobbying from running our nation, bullying our citizens. 

As I think about the conflict of religion I feel like I’m on a completely different plane of observation and understanding.

To me, it’s not about “color.” It’s about “Unity.” We are so busy searching for our differences we have lost sight of our common ground, creating more diversity, more division, and slaughtering Unity.

To me, it’s less about which religion’s concept of “God” is the right one and more about living a godlike life. If we all hold to a God of love, if we all respect life, respect each other, reflect godlike living, well…what was the question?

To me, the Bible is less about threatening punishment for our sins and more about wisdom and warnings to help us make better, more sound decisions, so we have a better, more sound, stronger world to live in.

When did we decide we don’t need wisdom?

When did we forget what respect is?

When did we become so selfish and self-centered individuals?

When did we lose compassion?

When did we decide that we don’t need love?