The Greatest Country in the World?

 

    Recently, Hillary Clinton read her 2016 acceptance speech on "The View." (The speech she didn't get to give to the nation, obviously.) I don't watch "The View," so I heard only a few lines. I happened to catch the one where she claims that "America is the greatest country in the world." That one line gave me something to ponder for the rest of the day.

    Growing up in the United States, I learned in school that we are the greatest country in the world, and as a child I never questioned this assertion. Now I have to wonder what gives us the right to claim this title when children in other countries are probably being taught that THEY live in the greatest country in the world.

    I just found an article on "Soapboxie" that gives three reasons for the USA being the greatest nation in the world. The first reason is our Constitution which gives us more rights and freedoms than people have in other countries. I don't know enough about the governments in other countries to say whether ours is the best or not, but I do appreciate the freedoms that we enjoy. On the other hand, I regret that so many Americans are irresponsible with these freedoms. I have to wonder if we carry it too far when we allow people the freedom to do whatever they please, even when their actions are harmful to others. 

    Freedom is highly valued by many Americans, but some people might value other things. For instance, I value peace and non-violence. According to the Global Peace Index for 2021, the three most peaceful countries in the world are: Iceland, New Zealand, and Denmark. The United States doesn't even make the top ten. Some people might rate countries according to their health care systems. According to the World Population Review the United States ranks eighteenth in health care. On the other hand, the World Giving Index ranks us first in generosity (by individuals, not the government), something I can be proud of. 

    There are many different ways to rate countries, depending on what one thinks is most important; so you can only claim to live in the "greatest" country if it is greatest according to the value that is most important to you. 

    My question is, why does it matter? Someone claiming to live in the greatest country reminds me of a child saying, "My dad is stronger than your dad," or a consumer boasting that "My car is fancier than your car." So what? Why would I care when my focus in life is the building of bridges between countries, between peoples, and between heaven and earth? 

    In Matthew 23:11-12 we hear Jesus say: "The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." 

    If we apply this lesson to the nations, we see that the greatest country is the one that serves the others, in order to create peace, justice, and prosperity in all of the world. I'm not sure which country this would be, but I would like to see the nations of the world make this their goal. Rather than acting like children who have to be "the best," "the strongest," "the biggest," or "the richest," I look for the day when every country strives to be the kindest, the most compassionate, and the most peaceful. 

    Thinking about the greatest country in the world reminds me of one of my favorite hymns, "This is My Song." 

THIS IS MY SONG * 

This is my song, O God of all the nations, 

A song of peace for lands afar and mine. 

This is my home, the country where my heart is; 

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine; 

But other hearts in other lands are beating 

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine. 

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean, 

And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine. 

But other lands have sunlight too and clover, 

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine. 

Oh, hear my song, O God of all the nations, 

A song of peace for their land and for mine. 

*To the melody of Finlandia *Lyrics by Lloyd Stone

    

A World Without War

       

    My first memory of war - not one that I lived through, but one that destroyed the peace of my childhood innocence - was the movie, "War and Peace" that I saw on television at age ten.  The images of violence and suffering broke my heart and I went to bed crying and praying to God for a future without war. 

    My next memory is of an evening news report when I watched the flag-draped coffins being unloaded from a plane from Vietnam. The coffins came out, one after another after another. Why did all of these young men have to die? It didn't make sense to me at age eleven, and it doesn't make sense to me fifty-seven years later. 

    I know that many people believe war to be a necessary evil. People have been at war with each other for as long as history has been recorded. However, I share a belief with many others that it doesn't have to be this way. Project Ploughshares is one organization that holds the vision of Isaiah 2:4:  God shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.

     World Beyond War is another organization that calls itself a global nonviolent movement to end war and establish a just and sustainable peace. World Beyond War was founded in 2014 by David Hartsough and David Swanson. Swanson is the author of War is a Lie in which he details all of the wars in which the United States has been involved, and how not one of them was necessary for the good of our country or humanity. In his book, Swanson presents all of the reasons people have used to justify war over the centuries and systematically refutes every one of these arguments. If you need convincing that war is a barbaric crime against humanity, I highly recommend this book. 

    Wars are fought based on the lies our leaders drum up to convince young people to sacrifice their lives for a false cause. This strategy was glaringly obvious when the USA declared war on Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 tragedy even though the perpetrators of that attack came from Saudi Arabia. The excuse given for bombing Afghanistan was that the The Taliban were sheltering Osama bin Laden in that country. But the Taliban repeatedly offered to negotiate for the handing over of Osama bin Laden, before and after 9/11/01, and "President George W. Bush rejected these offers and continued bombing." (Jeremy R. Hammond, 'Newly Discovered Documents Shed More Light on Early Taliban Offers, Pakistan Role,' Foreign Policy Journal, September 20, 1010.)     The excuse for attacking Iraq was an even more obvious lie. Mark and I knew long before the attack on Iraq that there were no weapons of mass destruction there. We heard Scott Ritter, former United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, speak at the state college in Oneonta, New York. During his time as an inspector he and his colleagues never found any weapons of mass destruction. Never mind the fact that many countries, including the USA, do harbor weapons of mass destruction and it has never been a legitimate reason for another country to attack that one.     This brings me back to my premise that there is never a legitimate reason for war. Some people say we will always have war because we have always had war. This type of thinking lacks imagination and faith. I would ask these people to try imagining a world without war and how we can implement it. And I would ask them to have faith in humanity and faith in the divine plan that promises peace on earth and harmony among all people. 

You can sign the Declaration of Peace here: https://worldbeyondwar.org/individual/

Building Bridges of Oneness through Better Understanding

      

    Church membership has been on the decline in the United States since 1985.  According to the Gallup polls: "Over the past two decades, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has grown from 8% in 1998-2000 to 13% in 2008-2010 and 21% over the past three years." I believe there are many reasons for this, but I think one reason is that many people are realizing that the theologies of most religions are too exclusive and do not support our new understanding that all people are One, and all are divine children of God. Many people who believe in a divine universe will not use the term "God" because it evokes images of a wrathful and vengeful being who threatens to punish us for eternity if we stray from the path of righteousness. 

    I personally do not think that church membership is as important as attaining a better understanding of God and our relationship with our divine parent: our Father- Mother God. That relationship is based on Love, and I do believe that Jesus (among many others) came to earth to teach humanity how to be more loving, and to show us how to save ourselves from guilt, fear, envy, illness, and all the other negative experiences of an ego-driven life. 

    Ten years ago I read a book called Who Am I? Why Am I Here? written by Patricia Cota-Robles. I am re-reading this book now and finding many wonderful reminders about the reasons we earthlings find ourselves in the predicament we are in, and how we can get out of it.  I would like to share an excerpt from this book (pages 104-105):

     Jesus agreed to be crucified in order to prove to the world that there is nothing the fallen human ego can do that will destroy the Divinity within us. His crucifixion and resurrection proved that even if one's physical body is abused, tortured, and crucified, the Christ within is eternal and lives on in our Light Body.

    Even though Jesus did not save us in the way many are saying, he did forgive the sins of the world in a very different way. When Jesus was hanging on the cross a Centurion pierced his side with a sword. His intent was to accelerate Jesus' death, and to put him out of his misery. As Jesus' blood and Lifeforce flowed onto the Earth Jesus said, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do." In that instant, our Father-Mother God allowed the Law of Forgiveness to be initiated as the order of the New Day on Planet Earth.

    Prior to that moment, the Children of God were subject solely to the Law of Karma, or the Law of Cause and Effect. After the Law of Forgiveness was established on Earth, we had another option. Humanity could ask for forgiveness for the misuse of our precious gift of Life and be forgiven. We are still subject to the Law of Cause and Effect, but now when we recognize the error of our ways we can ask forgiveness. Forgiveness transmutes our misqualified energy back into Light before it returns to us as a difficult challenge through the Law of the Circle. 

    It is important for us to understand that we are not forgiven just because Jesus was here, as some believe. We are forgiven if we recognize our mistakes, ask for forgiveness, and change our behavior patterns. 

    If this explanation makes sense to you and you'd like to know more, I recommend that you read this book. If you'd like me to share more excerpts on this blog, just let me know in the comments. 

    

    

    

Neurodiversity

        

       When a child is born with a disability, building bridges of oneness is the last thing on the parents' and grandparents' minds. My grandson was two and a half when he was diagnosed with autism. I didn't know anything about autism then, but I've learned a lot over the past four years. One thing I've learned is that autism is a common disability, and having autism in the family creates understanding and connections with people we wouldn't have known otherwise. 

       Before our grandson's diagnosis, I didn't think a lot about neurodivergent people. In fact, I wasn't familiar with that term at all. Knowing and loving my grandson has opened my eyes and mind to the challenges of raising a child who does not communicate, learn, and play the way a neurotypical child does. I have struggled to find the spiritual reasons for autism, and what I've come up with is that it teaches the family how to love unconditionally. Whenever we are called upon to make sacrifices in order to care for another person, our hearts stretch and grow just a little bit more. I think that's what this is about.                                                        

       A year and a half ago my husband and I left our New York home of thirty years and moved to Wisconsin to be closer to our children and grandchildren. The main reason was to be here for our grandson, who can't be left with a childcare giver who doesn't understand his disability. While he attends an ABA clinic, there are many times that he can't go for one reason or another, and his parents have to leave work to care for him. When the Covid pandemic hit last year there was no childcare available before and after the clinic hours, and no child care for his younger sister, either, so we realized that our presence in Wisconsin was essential.                                

       Making friends in a new town is difficult in the best of circumstances, but add a pandemic that requires social distancing, and it's nearly impossible. Fortunately I made one new friend before Covid shut everything down. I met JoAnne at the gym, but we were drawn together by the commonality of my special needs grandson and her special needs daughter. Kathleen was born with a genetic micro deletion called 1q44. It is so rare it doesn't have a name or a syndrome associated with it. Some of Kathleen's behavior is similar to that of someone on the autism spectrum. Because she has trouble communicating, JoAnne became a speech pathologist. Before we were separated by social distancing JoAnne came to our house to work with my grandson one day, and she and I got together on several occasions.

                                                         JoAnne and Kathleen

Now that we are fully vaccinated, JoAnne and I are socializing again. The other day we went to a coffee shop together and I wore the T-shirt my daughter had given me for Mother's Day. The purchase was a fund-raiser for the ABA clinic. It tells people to "Embrace Autism." I have to say, while I embrace my grandson and others with autism, I can't embrace the disability itself. If I'm misunderstanding the meaning of this slogan, I'd love to hear from anyone who can explain it to me.

After we finished our coffee and muffins JoAnne and I were browsing through the gift section of the shop when a young man who obviously knew JoAnne said hello. She introduced us and I learned that he had been one of her speech clients when he was three years old. He noticed my shirt and told me that he has a disability, which JoAnne later told me is autism. I realized that by wearing that shirt I helped him to feel comfortable with me. Just acknowledging an awareness of neurodiversity and the people who struggle with it can build bridges between people from different backgrounds and forge new relationships. When I meet people with disabilities now I am much more sensitive toward them and their caregivers than I used to be. But I'm still working on it, realizing it is a lifelong process!

Friendships Lost and Renewed

        

       Friendships are often a good way to build bridges - if we can maintain a friendship with someone of a background or belief system that's different from our own. 

       About twelve years ago I was "unfriended" by two different women - both friendships that began in early adulthood, but at different times and in different places. When both of these friendships began we were in similar places on our spiritual journeys. We were spiritual seekers whose journeys eventually took different paths. Each friendship lasted for several decades, mostly maintained with long-distance phone calls and letters. 

       I will call one of these friends Susan. Susan lives in Alabama where we first met, while I have moved on to Tennessee, then New York, and now Wisconsin. Susan became deeply entrenched in fundamentalist Christianity, whereas I grew away from any specific religious identity toward a multi-faith spirituality. We based our friendship on those interests we continued to hold in common, until 2008 when I became a certified life-cycle celebrant. In this capacity I created and performed personalized wedding ceremonies ( as well as memorial services and a baby name ceremony). The weddings ranged from inter-faith, to spiritual, to totally non-religious. I created ceremonies that were meaningful to the couple whose love was being celebrated. I loved this work and felt that I was offering a wonderful service for couples who did not adhere to a specific religion but wanted something that reflected their own beliefs and their love for each other. 

       During the early days of my new venture I received a letter from Susan, letting me know that she was cutting off communication with me because I was encouraging people in their sinful ways. She said that my heart was hardened against God. Soon afterward we lost touch with each other and I sadly removed her name from my address book. 

       I will call the other friend Millie. I have known her longer than I've known Susan. We explored similar spiritual paths when we were in college together. Eventually she became an Animist. I thought I could relate to this concept because I do believe that God is a part of Creation, not a separate entity. Without going into the details, it seems that my concept of a divine universe did not mesh with Millie's beliefs. She objected to the comments I made on her blog, and eventually blocked me. When I performed a wedding in her town, I went to the house and knocked on the door. She did not answer it.

       In 2018 my husband, son, and I traveled to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon and visit Sedona. I remembered that Susan had loved Sedona and used to talk about moving there. I looked up her address so I could send her a post card from Sedona. Soon afterward I received a letter from her in which she apologized for shunning me and admitted that she had been wrong. She still thinks I'm wrong about religion, but has come to realize our differences don't mean we can't be friends. 

       The same year I received a letter from Millie, apologizing for the way she had treated me, and asking if we could renew our friendship. At that time I was in New York and she had moved to Massachusetts. We corresponded and discussed the possibility of seeing each other again. Millie created a zine based on her interests in animism and cannabis. She asked me to buy one for $7, which I did. I read the zine and decided it was not something I wished to subscribe to. She kept asking me to subscribe, and when I didn't, she stopped writing. A year later I wrote to tell her I was moving to Wisconsin and she said something that amounted to: "Have a good life."

       So what is the lesson here, I ask myself. We can build bridges with friendships, but sometimes bridges are burned. We can practice forgiveness seventy times seven, but sometimes the forgiven one won't accept our forgiveness - or maybe she thinks she is the one who needs to forgive and won't. Relationships can be a mystery. I believe the main lesson of every life is to love unconditionally as much as possible. But love comes in many forms and flavors. Sometimes we just have to love and let go.  

       

Building Bridges . . . with Snow!

                                                            View from my window 2/13/21.
   

    Winter is my least favorite season. I miss the days when I could run out the door without having to stop and put on a coat and hat, boots, scarf and gloves. Winter is the longest season of the year here in Wisconsin, just like it was in New York where I spent the major portion of my life. I don't like shoveling snow, slipping on ice, tracking snow and salt into the house - not to mention cabin fever which is worse than ever during the coronavirus pandemic!

    Hating winter as much as I do, I have to work hard to find enjoyment during the months of January, February, and March. (December is full of holiday celebrations, and winter is just beginning, so that one is easy.) I do a lot of reading, baking, and knitting. I have gone cross-country skiing with Mark a couple of times, but the temperature has been in the single digits and below zero with the wind chill factor this month, so I'm just hibernating in the house unless I have to go to the store. I walk my granddaughter to pre-school three times a week - a five-minute walk for which we are bundled up from head to toe.

    This morning Mark and I watched the snow fall on the scene pictured above while we ate breakfast together in our sunroom. We are grateful to have each other during this time of isolation. As we gazed out the window at our white neighborhood, we talked about the coming spring and how much we have to look forward to: our 44th anniversary, the flowers that will bloom for the first time in this yard, the fact that we and many others will have had our Covid vaccines, and the world will be coming back to life in more ways than one. 

    Meanwhile, the weather forecast predicts another week of sub-freezing temperatures and snow. Snow unites the neighborhood, as one yard blends into the next one. A blanket of white hides boundaries and reminds us that we are all one humanity. Snow muffles noise, creating a feeling of peace and quiet. 

    Diana Cooper (https://dianacooper.com/) who works with the angelic realms, tells us that Archangel Gabriel is always present where there is snow, purifying the land and bringing joy and hope. Diana goes on to say in her February newsletter: "Hope is the message for the Spring.  Hunker down for the rest of the winter but hold onto your vision that the new golden world will begin to show itself soon.  Remember this every time you see a glimmer of sunshine peep through the clouds.  Use this time of restriction to concentrate on what brings you soul satisfaction and happiness."

    This morning it brought me soul satisfaction and happiness to share waffles and raspberries with Mark, while watching the snow fall and listening to Andrea Boccelli sing this song of hope called "I Believe." 

I Believe Lyrics

One day I'll hear
The laugh of children
In a world where war has been banned

One day I'll see
Men of all colors
Sharing worlds of love and devotion

Stand up and feel
The Holy Spirit
Find the power of your faith

Open you heart
To those who need you
In the name of love and devotion

Yes I believe

I believe in the people
Of all nations
To join and care
For love

I believe in a world
Where light will guide us
And giving our love
We'll make heaven on earth

I believe in a world
Where light will guide us
And giving our love
We'll make heaven on earth