The temperature here is a mere 10 degrees, and the winds and snows have been fierce for over a week...and promises to continue into this brand spanking New Year. This is Day 1, and I have been pondering what I can do to look beyond my own situation and somehow affect the world around me in a positive way.
I know, as an educator, I do that in every course I teach...whether or not the students enjoy history, I can see them begin to see the connections between the mistakes our ancestors made and the same mistakes our leaders are making today. That is a positive, and I find it encouraging.
But...what else can I do? I am not rich enough to dispense aid or make large contributions to those who can do so, nor can I give employment to anyone who might need it. I struggle to keep a roof over my own head at times, which means being unable to help put a roof over someone else's.
So...it's a new year, after today there will be 364 opportunities to make a difference, if I just knew what I could *do*!
I will start with myself. I will attempt in anyway possible to reduce my carbon footprint, to reduce/reuse/recycle as much as I can, and help others where I can. It seems like a drop in the bucket compared to societal need, but its *my* drop, and if enough other folks add their drop to that bucket...we can make changes for the good of the world.
Monday, January 1, 2018
A New Year: Facing Changes
Everyone waxes philosophic as one year ends and another begins, and the naked historian is no different...
2017 was a year of immense and difficult change for everyone: ideologically, politically, religiously, and economically. Many of us face the loss of health insurance, or senior services, and even Social Security which should fund our "golden years" is under political threat. Our once, comfortable, logical progression of life's milestones has its infrastructure, paid for by our own labors, being chipped away by the political robber jays. Everything we could always count on is under threat. Our standing in the world has been damaged by the chaos consuming our government leaders.
It would be so very easy to live in fear, stick our fingers in our ears and sing "lalala" to drown out both the pundits and the voices of reason. But we cannot do that. We, as a people, have to make the changes that the government has failed to deliver on and take care of our own. We need to clean the Halls of Congress of graft, patronage, and bribery and elect people who work for US instead of for the special interests, corporations, or the obscenely rich.
What does this have to do with nudism and/or history, you ask? Well, to coin a phrase..."Our (self-styled) Emperor has no clothes"...and it is not a pretty sight.
Everything he does, has done, or planned to do is the exact opposite of what he told his desperate followers he would deliver. He demonized his predecessor for delivering what those constituents most needed...and is now working his hardest to take it away.
I won't ever say that the system is perfect, a democracy has to evolve with the times, but while change is inevitable...controlled change is infinitely better and safer than political chaos. So, we need to strip away the pretense and the secrecy...lay naked the graft and dishonesty...and take our country back from the bribeable, the sycophants, the misguided, and the tyrants.
Take a Stand: At all times, our government should stand naked before us, without secrets about what will directly affect We, the People. This is not to say that we should know everything that happens in defense, diplomacy, or international relationships, but that we should be able to TRUST our elected officials to do their best for us, and to make the world a better, safer, and healthier place for all of us.
2017 was a year of immense and difficult change for everyone: ideologically, politically, religiously, and economically. Many of us face the loss of health insurance, or senior services, and even Social Security which should fund our "golden years" is under political threat. Our once, comfortable, logical progression of life's milestones has its infrastructure, paid for by our own labors, being chipped away by the political robber jays. Everything we could always count on is under threat. Our standing in the world has been damaged by the chaos consuming our government leaders.
It would be so very easy to live in fear, stick our fingers in our ears and sing "lalala" to drown out both the pundits and the voices of reason. But we cannot do that. We, as a people, have to make the changes that the government has failed to deliver on and take care of our own. We need to clean the Halls of Congress of graft, patronage, and bribery and elect people who work for US instead of for the special interests, corporations, or the obscenely rich.
What does this have to do with nudism and/or history, you ask? Well, to coin a phrase..."Our (self-styled) Emperor has no clothes"...and it is not a pretty sight.
Everything he does, has done, or planned to do is the exact opposite of what he told his desperate followers he would deliver. He demonized his predecessor for delivering what those constituents most needed...and is now working his hardest to take it away.
I won't ever say that the system is perfect, a democracy has to evolve with the times, but while change is inevitable...controlled change is infinitely better and safer than political chaos. So, we need to strip away the pretense and the secrecy...lay naked the graft and dishonesty...and take our country back from the bribeable, the sycophants, the misguided, and the tyrants.
Take a Stand: At all times, our government should stand naked before us, without secrets about what will directly affect We, the People. This is not to say that we should know everything that happens in defense, diplomacy, or international relationships, but that we should be able to TRUST our elected officials to do their best for us, and to make the world a better, safer, and healthier place for all of us.
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