A L O H A !
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" No one knows
till he has suffered from the night
how sweet
and dear to his heart
and eye
the morning can be. "
Bram Stoker
" Joys come
from simple and natural things:
mists over meadows,
sunlight on leaves,
the path of the moon
over water. "
Sigurd F. Olson
" The only true voyage of discovery
would not be to visit strange lands
but to behold the universe
through the eyes of another. "
Proust
> < } } ( ° >
" I pledge allegiance
to the flag
of the United States Of America. . .
Lottery & Justice
for all. "
Ours is a nation
founded on ideas,
it's just that we disagree
on exactly what those ideas are.
Lately,
there has been an attempt
to label those who care
about our rising
undeniable,
un-American
inequality
as lazy or envious.
"You can still become rich."
they say.
But I would answer
that when my grand parents
were brought to this country
as children,
their parents wanted them to have
more than a ticket in a game of chance.
America was a place
where no matter who you were
you could live decently
if you were willing to work hard.
And they did work hard.
America
was about her middle class,
and about rising, not falling,
standards of living
for ALL of her people -
not about the chance you had
to get lucky.
Today
some Americans "earn"
millions & billions.
But many others
who work every day
are falling further
and further
behind.
So what is America for?
Winner takes all?
There is much waste and abuse.
There is much hidden behind the 'news.'
Even as we Americans pay more per-capita
for health care,
we fall further
and further
behind the developed world
in health coverage and outcomes.
Look it up.
Where do those dollars go?
Where do those dollars go?
When everything is left to the market,
human beings only have the value
of their bank accounts.
Is THAT liberty?
Or justice for ALL?
Thank you for visiting today!
Leave us your comment
Warmly, cloudia
Leave us your comment
Warmly, cloudia
I strongly resist and resent the theory that a person's worth can be measured in monetary terms. And also (just as strongly) believe that everyone should have access to health care and education (and a few other things too).
ReplyDeleteClimbing down from my soap box now. Loved the droplets of water on the leaf. Thank you.
I grew up watching America way of life through TV and movies. You lead the way, hope it is good. Nature can be very soothing as seen from your pictures.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for these thoughtful responses you two!
ReplyDeleteSo Very Well Put!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mark. this has been bothering me for some time.
ReplyDeleteAnd many are asking these hard questions.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! Those were the days, but I'm afraid that they might be gone for good! Great quotes!
ReplyDeleteI worked on that Ft. DeRussy parking structure some years back (first picture). Even back then I thought that they should have built 5 floors which would be needed today. But I think that since Ft. DeRussy is fully self supporting that's all the funds they had on hand. There was a tsunami warning during the construction but we kept on working inside the undulation zone.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet no one seems to want to take a chance on a new way of doing things.
ReplyDeleteCloudia, you have summarized our woes beautifully.
ReplyDeleteGrew up in the 70's watching American TV and movies, still do now ! Despite the negative aspects, I like the creativity and sort of "openness" in thinking. That is why I went to the University in the USA. Great country, wonderful people !
ReplyDeleteGosh you touch my heart!
ReplyDeleteI know that together
ANYTHING can happen.
And knowing people as I do
from knowing all of YOU,
I feel that something good is
coming. So keep being kind,
keep thinking and voting.
The next big thing will be about thinking and values , NOT tech!
unfortunately that is the status all over the world!
ReplyDeletenamaste /\ from mumbai
aloha!
Bonza quote from Sigurd F. Olsen and the photo with the droplets of water. I agree with you that America is in dire straits financially the greedy people on wall street and the bankers don't help the situation at all with their obscence billion dollar profits and need to be pulled into line after being bailed out by the American Government during the GFC :-).
ReplyDeleteGreat and lovely pictures...
ReplyDeletePierre
Hi Cloudia,
ReplyDeleteThank you for expressing so neatly what the [free] world's best definition of success might be.
If we are heading for the wrong goal, we can only take the wrong path.
Great picture
ReplyDeleteGio'
http://remenberphoto.blogspot.com/
I agree with The Elephant's Child in all ways.I also believe that everyone should have access to health care and education. I don't understand why people oppose president Obama, when he wants to make health care and health insurance accessible for everybody.
ReplyDeleteBTW the photo of the leaves with droplets is magnificent.
"America was a place
ReplyDeletewhere no matter who you were
you could live decently
if you were willing to work hard."..this is absolutely true and it applies to almost all countries. Work hard and you can't die of hunger. Love the pixz witht he droplets on leaf and the quote by Sigurd F. Olson goes pretty well with it. tQ.
well said, cloudia! you're so right.
ReplyDeletei absolutely enjoyed the photos and quotes! simply wonderful!!
xo
It's a frightening thought in Europe just now too.
ReplyDeleteThe statue of lberty picture is very nice.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Filip
Are we in it together-
ReplyDeleteor is it one against all?
thank YOU for visiting