Looking For God At the Lake

ON MY HIKE on the hilly rocky trail at my beautiful local lake, I met an older couple and their dog, who were all quite friendly. The dog charged me, looking for love. The lady apologized. No need. Later, I heard the dog, a white lab, screaming. I was horrified, thinking he was in terrible pain or being whipped, until the lady assured me it was a pleasure scream,and I saw the dog in the water, with a stick in his mouth, swimming joyfully. I laughed with joy and relief, and told the lady: "I used to throw tennis balls in the lake to my German Shepherd. It wass illegal, at that particular lake, to be in the water. Somebody took a picture and Wolfgang was on the front page of the local newspapeer,swimming, ball in mouth. The caption said: "Soggy Pooch". Wolfie and I, committing a crime,on the front page. We never got caught". The lady laughed, and agreed it was quite an experience. I laughed and replied that,at the end of our days, our experiences are all we have left. That,she said,and God. So, it was on. I had to jump in. The point I wanted to make i that there are many religions in the world, many concepts of God, and that each of us has our ow, individual, seperate path to the top of the mountain, aka "God".As I recall, she never explicity sais that she was a Christin. But she was. She referred to Christ, and used the name Jesus several times,as I remember. But, darn it, she was one of the people, and it seems to me that a majority of Christians are, who insists and assume that the Christian religion, her religion, is the only true relgion in the universe. I prefer people who believe that all religions are valid and true,from the point of view of their adherants. that no single religion has all truth, and tht all religions and all philospohies and systemsof belief have some truth. And, that are all quuite limited,a nd,in ost case,symbolic, allegorical, rather than literally true. I can easily imagine beig a born again conservative Pentecostal Christian, and accepting and respecting all other religions, without thinking mine is better or best for everyone. If I became an evangelicl Christian, meaning a Christian who devoedly and fervantly tries to spread and share the faith with others, I think I would do so wihtout embracing the belief that people who I can't converta, and the don't ecoem Christians, will burn in hell forever. I dont't think you necessarily have to believe in hell to be an evangelical Christian, but, well, maybe you do. i assume there are many opinions and writings on the question. Matter of fact, the idea strikes me that when I finish and publish thie essay I'll "google it. Google'll ell you anything, right? I explained to the lady tha I am a pantheist, mentioned Spinoza and Einstein, and she had a much better reaction to it than most devout Christians, which by this time I have figured out she is. No, she didn't like it, but, by golly, she didn't how any open hostility to it, merely a sort of calm, quiet sadness. definitely negative, but acceptable, within limits. We jsut can't keep perpetuating human culture on this planet with a high percentage of humans locked into the mindset that their sacred, beloved religion is the only true one, and that only people who share it are worthy of heaven, and so forth. that attitude simply does not work, and although religious intolerance is not nearly as bad globally as it once, even rather recently, was, its still pretty bad, indeed too bad. I mentioned that "Holly Holy" by Neil Diamond is my favorite gospel song; she didn't even balk at that. Cool. I'm sure she thought it was weird, though. She finished the conversation b expressing the hope that my journey to God ends ends up successfully, or something like that. I was tempted to either say "It already has", or,"gee,wouldn't that tht be cool!", but, Isaid nothing. It wouldn't've done any good. No matter what, whe was going to go away thinking that its too bad that weird oldman doesn't accept Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and savior and is therefore in danger of his eternal soul spending eternity in hell, and hoping that maybe someday he would be saved and come to the truth, her truth, the only truth.

Trump, Trying To Be A Bully, (But Failing.Miserably)

I DESPISED DONALD TRUMP from the moment I first saw him,on the cover of "The National Enquirer" in the late nineteen seventies, I think it was. Fancy boy, posing for a scandal sheet, showing off his first of several trophy wives, Marla Maples. It is uncertain which he most craves; attention and fame, wealth, or power. In his psychotic insecurity he is addicted to all three. It is rumored that Trump's people advised Vladimir Zelenskyy to appear with Trump in a suit and tie. All the king's horses and all the king's men seem unable to make Trump look other than rumpled in his formal attire. Zelenskyy prefers to down dress, wanting to be authentic, knowing that he is only a public servant, and not superior. J.D. VAnce took a pot shot at Zelenskyy with Trump as his shield, as pre planned, and the two gangsters launched their gratuitous attack, likely following Putin's instructions. The whole sordid verbal attack on Zelenskky was as carefully orchestrated as Trump's insurrection, and no less egregioius. The mafia don, his thugs in the room, making their hit. Zelenskyy never should have tried to speak during Trump's psychotic ranting tyrade. He should have listened intently, hands demurely folded on his lap, looking straight at Trump, and remained slient until Trump finally ran out of gas, and stopped ranting. Then he should have said: "Mr. President, my country did not start this war. My country was invaded and occpuied, and remains occupied, by an unprovoked aggressor. Nor am I a dictator,sir. I was duly elected, without Russian assistance. You should try it sometime. If there is a dictator in this room, Mr. President, it isn't me. I have never expressed any desire to be a dictator. You have. To you, everything is transactional. Everything is a deal. OK, so be it. I am willing to deal. You want to please Mr. Putin and me both. That will be difficult. You're right, I lack cards. But I have something much more important: a legitimate grievance. I am the injured party, My country and I. Not you. Not Russia. I insist, that as part of any deal, my country be given its territory back, all of it, and that Russia and the woeldld help us rebuild it, and that Ruiisa and the world give us security guarantees. Also, the United States has not given Ukraine three hundred and fifty billion dollars worth of assistance, but rather, a little more than one hundred billion, for which we are infinitely grateful, as we have often told you. When the aid was given, there was no mention of our paying for it. Had that been your country's preference and intent, your country should have said so at the time, but did not. We are perfectly willing to pay for all future military assistance, by signing an agreement for mining rights to our valuable minerals. Whatever the future of the relationship between our two coutires, it must be built upon truth, not lies." Of course, Trump never would have allowed Zelenskyy to say all that without interrupting and talking over him. Maybe Zelenskyy should have continued his statement nonethelss, the two men talking at the same time. Marco Rubio, also hiding behind Trump, made the laughable remark that Zelenskyy was disrespectful toprevaricating and Trump, and should apologize. It is of course Trump who should apologize, but he is obvously incapable of it. It is probable that Trump has never apologized for anybody for anything in his entire criminal life,and never will. Roy Cohn trained him well, in the art of prevaricating and bullying. Like all bulllies, Trump is at heart a trembling coward, with a thinly veiled facade of strength. Zelenskyy stood up to him, and was humiliated only by virtue of spending time in the same room with a psychotic criminal. Decent Americans are ashamed of and embarressed by Trump, while immoral Americans are probably proud of him, just as they seem proud of his criminality, to the extent that they acknowlegde rather then deny it. Decent Americans should not be embarrassed or ashamed, they sould be angry, and determined to remove Trump, and to replace him with a person with Zelenskyy's courage, honor, and integrity. As Trump sinks to previously unknown depths of depravity, so do his supprters, as usual.