ISIS Brides? No Humility... No Home

While the war with ISIS is coming to an end in Syria and Iraq, the war between the jihadis and their home countries is just beginning. There isn’t an easy answer with what to do with these people one thing stands out for me,

It’s the same thing that stands out for the alcoholic/addict early in their recovery. They want forgiveness and they do it by making amends and a strong sense of humility. They don’t justify what they have done, all they do is admit that what they did was wrong.

Recently, two different ISIS brides wanted to return home. They are both living in a refugee camp near the Turkey border in Syria. One is an American, the other is from Britain. Whether either one gets to return to their homes is not what I’m writing about. In no way should this be received as a political post. The only thing I noticed from these two ladies is the method which they are trying to use to return home.

The one from America is asking for forgiveness. She admits she made a mistake, that she was naive and arrogant. While the one from England, says she did it for religious beliefs. Beheadings didn’t bother her because it was done in the name of religion. She made the comment that the Manchester Arena bombing was justified because of the bombings in ISIS lands. Not once did she apologize for her role with any of it.

She was more concerned that the British people realized that she was pregnant with a third child. She wanted our pity because her two other children died from malnutrition. That in itself should allow her to return home.

It wasn’t enough to convince the Home Secretary that she should be allowed to come home. In fact, it had the reverse effect. He revoked her citizenship, leaving her no way to return to England. What was her response? She said she was shocked and would now look at her husband’s home in the Netherlands. She would move there and wait for him to get out of jail.

She was so sure she would be allowed to return to England and it didn’t happen. Now she sounds sure she will be welcomed in the Netherlands. Whatever does happen to her it will be of her own doings.

She freely went to Syria, with the intentions of living in the caliphate. It is time to accept responsibility for your actions and not wait for someone to give you pity.

Who would you rather help? The alcoholic who comes to you with regret and remorse. Who offers no explanation for their behaviour, only an “I’m sorry.” Or would you rather help the alcoholic, who blames it all on booze and can’t really apologize, because well, he was drunk at the time?

Humility goes a long way towards healing wounds. It goes a long way to becoming a spiritual being. Humility doesn’t correct the wrongs, what it does do is move things in the right direction. If you need to use pity to get your way, then you will always be living a life of manipulation and lies.

Watching these two on the TV and reading newspaper articles about them, I do hope one gets a second chance. The other? Don’t really care what happens to her. Why? Because through it all it has been about “me-me-me.” Not once has it been about any one else but herself.

Humility doesn’t mean you think less of yourself. It just means you think of yourself less.

Untold Heroes

Through my journey of life I have come to understand and sometimes regret the celebrations that North Americans have.  One of them is Columbus Day.  This is a celebration built upon the pain of another nation - The Native Americans.

Heroes of a nation,
We didn't know.
Tried to bury their stories,
On the back pages,
Of a history book...
They were just savages,
Didn't need a second look.

Really - spiritual men,
Brought to war,
Lost their land,
Wouldn't take it no more!

Their way of life,
They fought to save.
Near the end,
Full of anger and rage!
Lied to, with treaties they signed.
White men treated them,
Like they were dumb and blind.

Finally, they'd be pushed no more,
They'd fight - to even the score!
Little Big Horn is where they'd unite.
A young nation was awoke,
Full of fear, they'd show the Injun,
All their might!
No more - would a peace pipe be smoked.

What happened at Wounded Knee?
It took a century, but now we see.
They weren't savages, just men,
Protecting their home!
Wakan Tanka, gave them land,
To be free.
Gave them visions,
Buffalo and family,
Is who they'd see.
Now we see their pride,
For the Indian, there was honor,
In the way they died.

Our Eyes On The Skies

I wrote this poem on the day of the Columbia Shuttle disaster.

 "...by the end of the decade,
We'll fly a man to the moon,
And return him safely to earth."
With that statement,
It was no longer sci-fi,
Every childs dream, came alive!

Alan Shepard would open the door,
NASA got us off the floor!
John Glenn made the earth,
A little smaller.
It made our dreams,
A whole lot taller!
"One small step for man,
One giant leap for all manking."
A day that will be remembered,
For all time.

Even the Cold War,
Couldn't stand in the way.
When Soyeuz and Apollo,
Docked in space, it was proof,
There were no countries,
In outer space!
"Houston, we have a problem."
Raised new concerns.
Could we bring them back home?
They were so far away,
And all alone.
We celebrated their return,
And knew, we had more to learn.

It took 22 years,
For blacks and women,
To join the celestial display.
Something, that's commonplace today.
Along the way,
It wasn't always smooth.
In fact, science could be,
Down right cruel.
The Apollo I, launch pad fire,
Was more then we could bare.
Excitement, was replaced with fear.
We wondered, if space travel,
Was worth the dare.

Like Mercury, before them,
Apollo became obsolete.
The shuttle became,
The pride of the fleet.
Their missions became ordinary,
Never out of place.
They took off and returned,
At an astounding pace!
Taken for granted,
No one seemed to care.
Until we heard,
"Challenger, go with throttle up."
Started a new nightmare.
"They touched the face of God,"
The President said.
All we knew, six astronauts,
And a teacher were dead.

Two years on the ground,
NASA made its fleet,
Safe and mechanically sound.
15 years, lifting off,
Without a hitch.
But Columbia, exposed,
A new deadly glitch.

Through the history,
Of space conquest,
The wonderful accomplishments,
And the tragedies,
We've still been blessed.
Every mission, opened a new door.
I hope and pray,
We continue to explore!

"The same Creator,"
Who names the stars,
Also knows the names,
Of the seven souls,
We mourn today."

Our Home

On 9-11 I began thinking about the history of our nation. I began thinking how we have evolved and where we came from. The Lakota people believed that an age ended when the sun turned black. If I remember correctly, the world would end when the sun turned black for the seventh time. 

 The Sioux believed,
An age of time ended,
When the sun turned black.
It happened during,
That September attack.
A nation cried,
As thousands died.

It was the dawn,
Of an new age.
One filled with outrage!
Heard on the radio,
Seen on TV,
Raining concrete dust,
For all to see.

An anger rose,
Across the nation.
Took pride in America,
What a wonderful sensation!
There was no fright,
Osama - get ready,
For a fight!

people of police and fire,
First heroes known.
After awhile, we knew,
They weren't alone!
In Pennsylvania,
Hijackers stopped,
- by people -
Like you and me,
From attacking D.C.
Pentagon set ablaze.
Soldiers and civilians,
Dead in the maze.
A building of justice,
We had no fear!
American strength,
Rebuilt it in a year.

We found so many heroes,
In planes, buildings,
And towers.
We were so proud,
They gave us their power!
The power to help,
And lend a hand.
To remember,
This is our land.
For this land,
We will fight.
To always keep freedom,
In sight!

Why Not?

Written in 2007, this poem really questions my own thoughts of what is and what is not.  As I grow more mature, I realize I'm not a bleeding heart liberal that wants peace at any cost.  Nor am I so conservative that I think that an extremist is tied to a specific religion.  I really struggled with finding a permanent home for this poem.  But I do like the questions.  

if we question why
why can’t we question
why not? 

if we question peace
why not question war?
if we question life
why not question death?
if we question hate
why not question love?

to accept the unacceptable
to believe the unbelievable
to forgive the unforgivable
to share thoughts with spirits
and leave this world behind

if we question Mohammad
why not question Jesus?
if we question prophets
why not question God?
if we question Judaism
why not question Christianity?

why question at all
accepting why not
that we are different
we share the same air
we bleed the same blood
we feel the same pain

do we need to question love
do we need to question peace
why not accept God’s love
we’d all feel the peace
and the sanity to realize
why not?

Fear In The Air

An adventure begins as an illusion in the mind
at a young age a path is set, unable to change
pre-determined destinies enforced by messages received

A child is born to roam this land, enjoying a life of mystery
oil, power, and greed have destroyed Mother Earth
skills our ancestors knew, are long forgotten

No longer co-existing a world is conquered
submission to the gluttony of man
addictions shared with no shame

Caribou living on borrowed time
little monarchs trying to flutter their wings
eagles no longer fly with pride and grace

Freedom is the price we pay
death is a causality of this machine
domination is the nuclear option

Needs are fulfilled for the present
a future, left in shambles
a past best forgotten

An illusion of peace and serenity
contented with blinders on
its fixed for today

Someday we’ll wake up
our children and grandchildren will despise us
their home, their earth destroyed…

News about Sandy Hook in the UK

After the Sandy Hook School shooting, I got to witness how much coverage is given to America on newscasts and newspapers. Many people in England do not own a gun. It isn't impossible to get one but the laws are such that for a “common” person to own one is extremely difficult.

With this mentality with weapons it was hard for the people in England to understand not only what happen but how someone could have the ability to own such weapons.

The Daily Mail is a conservative newspaper and the day after the shooting, they posted these facts about weapons in America...

94,388 – people shot in the USA so far this year (as of 12/15/12)

39 – people killed by firearms in England and Wales over 12 months in 2008/9

190 – people shot in the USA on Saturday alone

11 – is the minimum age in Minnesota to be eligible for a firearms certificate

50 – shots fired by a lone gunman at shopping mall in California a day after the massacre (no one injured)

50% - of guns worldwide are in the USA – but just 5% of global population

231 – people killed in USA mass shootings (four or more dead) since May 2009

95 – shots used by German police in 2011 (including 49 warning shots)

90 – shots used by LA police to kill 19-year-old man after high-speed car chase

300,000,000 – is the number of privately owned firearms in the USA

40% - of gun purchases in the USA do not need background check

10% - of women living in the USA own at least one gun

42 – of the 50 states do not ban or regulate assault rifles

70,000 – women aged 51 to 65 who gained a concealed weapons permit in May 2012

1 – the number of mass murders that have been carried out by women

35 – people were killed by firearms in Australia in a single year

60 – people were killed by firearms in Spain in a single year

9,484 – people killed by firearms in the USA in the same 12 months

Sad reflections

After a good night's sleep, I feel like my body has adjusted to the six hour time change and it's time to reflect on the journey.

It started at the Lincoln airport, where I sat in the cafe, drinking a cup of coffee and looking out the window watching small planes coming and going as I waited for my flight. I sat there in my own little world when I heard three people chatting.

Two people, a guy and a gal, in their 30s, along with an Asian gentleman in his 50's. The cashier at the cafe was sharing with them about an earthquake in southern California and Northern Mexico. The Asian man wondered about his wife and family and he disappeared for a bit to make a phone call home.

He came back after the call and all was well and shortly after that we were on a plane to Chicago. When we landed, I was in no hurry at all. I had six hours before my next flight so I strolled the long walk from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3.

As I walked along, I was doing some window shopping. Thinking that after I found my terminal and gate, I would find a newsstand and sit back and read a newspaper from front to back. I mean... I had the time!

I looked into a bar and saw a dozen or so people sitting around the bar, with their tall glasses of cold beer. Here it was, not even noon and folks drinking beer. I thought of my times in airports having beer waiting for the next flight and thanked God for the change in my life. If that change never came, I doubt I would have been in the airport right then.

I took a couple of more steps and saw the bar's TV set and it had CNN on and something about a school shooting. I didn't read much or hear much and continued on my stroll. I found my gate and got a newspaper and found a TV as well. I sat down and began reading when people began gathering around the TV... I looked around the terminal and every free TV had people standing in front of it. What was with this shooting? Another tragedy and more pain for families. I looked at the TV from a distance and saw the SWAT team and K9 dogs roaming the grounds of a building. I put down the paper and started watching the TV.

Then the shock sat in. A school shooting. A shooting of harmless, innocent children and their teachers. I watched throughout the day and listened as the numbers rose of the people who were killed. The whole airport seemed to be in mourning. The hustle bustle was still there but yet there was a silence to it. Everyone seemed to know this was not an ordinary day.

Got on my flight to England and as my thoughts went back to seeing the images of the day, my mind went back to two years ago in Norway. 84 children were killed in a massacre. And I just couldn't imagine anyone harming children, I mean how could a child hurt anyone to the point of wanting to kill them?

Mall shootings, theater shootings, school shootings... so many innocent people killed.. for what purpose? When these shootings involve children... very young children... we know that evil is real.

Watching British news that night it was an eye-opener to see how others view America and the policies it has with guns and mental health care. Things like this can happen anywhere, yet America seems to have more then its share of them...

Thoughts and prayers to the Sandy Hook School Community...

Ground Zero

In 2006, I went on a 15 state two week vacation. A lot of traveling, but I also saw America in a new light. As an American there is a time, I believe, in our present history that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. 9-11 changed us and after visiting New York, I saw first hand how it has united a city. Ground Zero still holds an eerie silence in a city of noise. It is a somber place with make shift memorials on every corner. And it is a place that united a city - where I experienced first hand the helpful nature of its people. New York has a bad reputation, by those who haven't been there. After our week in the area, I better understand the brotherhood/sisterhood of man.

New Yorkers don't care if you speak English or Spanish or anything else. They'll find a way to communicate and help each other. We can all say we are in this together, but after walking the streets of New York, it was the first time, I truly felt that way.

I was born and raised in the New York area, but I hadn't been home in close to 20 years, prior to that visit. What I saw was a unity and humility I never dreamed of
and it made me proud to say that the area is part of my roots.


Ground Zero

somber thoughts… still some tears
twins are gone… lives forever changed
skyline just not the same
somehow we carry on
see trucks moving...
and jackhammers blaring
and you know… someday…
towers will rise again

makeshift memorials surround the walks
you can feel the horror… and the pain…
from a time not long ago
those towers were once...
a place of business
now a symbol of unity
a place of honor… where we became one

New Yorkers know the hurt first hand
and they share the memories of that day
with visitors… who’ll never understand
the full impact of 9-11
the screams… the deafening sounds
of buildings collapsing around them

it affected us all
but you can still see the pain...
in the face of the police officer…
the construction worker…
and the homeless lady on the corner
it changed a nation…
and gave a city… a new life
a new purpose…
a respect for each other…
because we’re all in it together

Protest

Through my time walking on this planet I have been involved in various protests. Heck, I walked in my first peace march against the Vietnam War when I was 13. One thing they all had in common was that the message was strong but it was lost in various forms of violence.

Today's youth really are a lot more creative then when I was their age. I received an e-mail today about a protest at a Target store.

The issues of why these folks were protesting are kind of lost with thoughts of gay people and unions. The message was about large corporations and their now freedom to buy elections... it really is quite scary...