As days go, this has been a very mellow one. I finally got a decent night’s sleep. And it’s pretty warm, a bright clear day with a lovely winter pale yellow sun almost adding color to the otherwise rather gray landscape. The last days of January without snow is almost a world with the pause button pressed.
The dogs know how to deal with such a day. They are good that way.
Yellow late afternoon light on two lazy little dogs
Now, I’m going off to wash my hair, then cook a little supper.
No ice this year, but we have had some astounding, huge, ice dams in past winters. This was shot from inside through the ice. It was the winter when we didn’t have any snow until the very end of January, but managed to accumulate more than 12 feet by mid-March. After it began snowing, it forgot to stop.
The “grid” in the background is the window screen. I should have removed it before winter. The ice destroyed it.
Icicles look pretty, but they do a lot of damage to houses, especially roofs and eaves. Ice weighs down tree branches, causing them to snap. Sometimes, ice will cause entire trees to fall. Ice dams can prove dangerous.
You can more clearly see the screen in this picture. By now, the ice had formed a curtain.
A big one can weigh several hundred pounds. I know people who have been seriously injured by falling ice.
Ask anyone what is wrong with the world, and you will certainly get an opinion, or many of them. We can all point to things that are wrong with politics, education, religion or whatever it is that crosses our minds, but we don’t all agree on what those things are. We are severely polarized, and we can not reach a consensus. Worse yet, there are influential people who will try to make sure the majority do not rule, as our recent national election shows.
With an eye toward the concept this divisive world should end, the one that is full of prejudices and deceit, is a video that presents our problems in detail. That YouTube presentation has gone viral. A rap artist and rights activist who calls himself Prince EA has put out a video that now has over seven million views and has been reposted and shared everywhere. It needs reposting again.
Richard Williams, a 26-year-old advocate for change, has taken a stage name, Prince EA. It is not unusual for a rap artist to take a stage name, but this one has significant meaning. For Williams it means Prince of the Earth, for it is with the earth that he is most concerned. The world, and all of its problems, needs a mighty voice and that is what Williams aims to provide in a well produced video. He wastes no time in coming to the point. The video opens strongly:
The world is coming to an end
The air is polluted, the oceans contaminated
The animals are going extinct, the economy’s collapsed
Education is shot, police are corrupt
Intelligence is shunned and ignorance rewarded
The people are depressed and angry
We can’t live with each other and…
He will tell you we can’t live with ourselves. We can’t really communicate with others. Do we not live in a world of “robotic communication?” I see it all the time. There are people too busy with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat or whatever to have real communication. So perhaps it is somewhat ironic that Williams’ message has gone viral on YouTube.
Presidents lie, politicians trick us
Race is still an issue and so is religion
Your God doesn’t exist, my God does and he is All-Loving
If you disagree with me, I’ll kill you
Or even worse argue, you to death
When we argue people to death, how often do we do it anonymously via Facebook or Twitter. How willing are we to really face these problems and seek solutions? The world we see is one Williams thinks should end. Do you agree?
Our role models today
60 years ago would have been examples of what not to be
There are states where people can legally be discriminated against
Because they were born a certain way
There are indeed role models today who in past generations would not have been allowed to be seen by youth as a standard to achieve, if they were allowed to be seen at all. And while we permit this type of role model, we see certain parts of society who some would like to suppress, because of skin color, sexual orientation or religion. How can we popularize sex and violence while discriminating against love and religion?
So what can we do in the face of all of this madness and chaos?
What is the solution?
Prince EA asks the question and he is not afraid to follow with the answer. It is a simple answer, of course. It is the answer we have known all throughout time, but rarely seem to apply.
“We can love
Not the love you hear in your favorite song on the radio
I mean real love, true love, boundless love
You can love, love each other”
This is why the world should end. It needs a fresh start with love. It is the love we must all provide. Where do we start to write a new history? Where is that new beginning? Where is that message that we need to go viral?
Remember how, many years ago in a galaxy far, far away — you know, during the Reagan administration — our government decided the best anti-drug program was “JUST SAY NO!” Make every person 100% responsible for whatever happens to him or her. As history tells us, this anti-drug campaign was so successful, we no longer have drug problems in this country.
So I thought we might use this same highly successful approach to other major social issues.
Like health care. As we move from an era of medical insurance to “Good luck, buddy,” we need new coping strategies. How about “Say no to sickness!” If you feel like crap, just say NO. Cancer or heart disease got you down? Smile! A bright smile and a positive attitude coupled with a firm approach, take-no-prisoners attitude to germs and chronic ailments will wipe away your tears. Let a smile be your umbrella when your arthritis is throbbing. If you can’t breathe because you don’t have an inhaler? Say NO to wheezing. Everything will be right as rain.
Gun violence is another good example of a problem that wouldn’t exist if we each had a better attitude. Alternatively, if you are a devotee of second amendment rights, try getting a bigger weapon. When bullets start to fly, just say NO! Like magic, bullets will bounce right off you. Would I lie to you? There is no problem too complicated that magical thinking will not make it disappear. We can fix everything with firm resolve, a positive attitude, and denial.
Speaking of climate change (we weren’t but now we are), there’s no such thing. Nothing is going on. No need to seek higher ground. Well, what about water pollution? Nonsense! Funny-colored smelly water is merely chock full of extra nutrients. Yummy!
JUST SAY NO is the ultimate, cost-effective way to deal with everything. A few television ads and some billboards along the highway and Bob’s your uncle, the problem vanishes. Maybe you can add some pamphlets. If these don’t quite do the job, you’ll probably die. In which case, it becomes someone else’s problem. We all know — at least those of us who have read Douglas Adams — that someone else’s problem, is invisible. If we can’t see it, it’s not there. (Phew. I was worried for a minute.)
It’s entirely up to you. Just say no. And keep saying it .
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