Where are the gold ribbons

Everywhere you look, you see those damned support this or support that kind of ribbon. The pink ones, the red ones, the yellow ones, even the rainbow ribbons. But where are the gold ribbons? Who even knows what the gold ribbons support? This month (October) is breast cancer awareness month. Everywhere you look, you see those damned pink ribbons. Now, of course I'm not against research to find a cure for breast cancer, But, gentle reader, did you know that last month was Childhood cancer awareness month?

Of course you didn't.

It is symbolized by the Golden Ribbon.

But you never saw celebrities pleading with you on TV to donate to save the children. Target, Walmart, K mart didn't get behind it in a massive month long ad campaign. Campbell's Soup didn't dedicate gold labels in support. Este Lauder didn't sell fun little gold ribbon bracelets.

Why is that?

I think a big part of it is that if it got the constant coverage that breast cancer gets, >gasp<>

Random thoughts

I was just sitting here, uploading pics, and was thinking. It's the start of the new year and typically, this is the time to reflect on the past year. And...I have questions.

When exactly did our daughters start dressing like they were going to Playboy playmate tryouts? I mean seriously. I have to take my daughter (who's 5) to school. She's already asked if I will get her low rider jeans and tummy shirts. Umm...No! Granted, it's not so bad in the winter, but when it's warm out, you see more exposed teenaged girl flesh than you used to see at the local swimming pool. I will admit to the occasional pervy old guy moment where I do take a minute to admire the nubile young bodies being displayed for me, and to bemoan the fact that such flesh is forever beyond my reach now, but seriously! WTF are we, as parents thinking?? We can't really be surprised when the local young lads come sniffing lustfully at our daughters. Shooting the lads is kind of frowned upon (except by the fathers who have their own teenaged daughters). Also, I work with a lot of these girls and in conversations, have discovered that a disturbing amount of them believe that having oral sex doesn't really constitute having 'real' sex. Good lord! Gimme some of that non real sex!

Maybe as a corollary to the above, I glance, from time to time, at the tabloids at the checkout stands. These are the people our kids are making into role models. Sports figures used to be considered worthy of emulation, but look now. The baseball steroid scandal, Mike Vick and his dogs, (and since I live in Iowa) the shameful behavior of college athletes, Kobe Bryant, Mike Tyson. My mother used to be hooked on the classic movie channels. Remember when actors and actresses were glamorous beings with the looks of Greek Gods? And now? We have Brittney Spears (and her lil sister), Tom Cruise, who seems to me to be making himself into a bigger and bigger joke, Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, the Pitt-Jolies. I dunno...maybe I'm just getting old.

Maybe all the above is prompted by a fear of change. Maybe I'm just not keeping up. But there is one thing I will always speak out against and that is the evil of Political Correctness. It's a continuing theme in every George Carlin bit I've ever heard, but we are modifying our very language, taking it further and further away from the truth it was to represent. Look at how we refer to other people. Back in the day, Negroes were called blacks. Now, we must be sensitive to the horrors of the American slave trade and refer to them as African Americans. Well? Which is it? Are you guys African or American? The same for any one of a different ethnic background. We are told that we need to recognize the heritage of others, no matter how they emigrated to the US. In a fit of anti Political Correctness, while we are asked to celebrate their ethnic diversity, white Americans are asked to cover up our own. I was born in Fredericksburg, VA. The site of a brutal Civil War battle. I have ancestors who fought on both sides. I have always been proud of both sides. And as long as I'm celebrating my 'Union' heritage, if I express pride in my southern background, somehow, I'm being a racist. We are asked to respect Kwanzaa (did I spell that right?), yet every southern state, who's flag includes the old confederate battle standard has been asked to remove it and show their sensitivity to the black community. What about my heritage? How am I supposed to feel when I'm told that heritage is bad? I'm not against Kwanzaa at all. I believe we should be sensitive to others. But I also believe that there should be one level playing field for all.

Am I wrong here? You tell me

Making life worthwhile

What makes life worth living?

Wealth?

Sex?

Power?

All the bits of stuff we think are so important?

There's no arguing that for some, for many, it is exactly that that makes life worthwhile. Many folks just say that being happy is what makes life worth it. How do you define happiness?

Yes, success in a career, success in relationships is a definite part of happiness, but in my opinion, it isn't enough. In this world of plenty (at least in the first world and many of the second world nations) and technology, things like computers, DVD players, cell phones and the internet have been reduced from luxury items to instruments of survival. My question is this:

Is it enough to survive? To merely exist? Or do we need for there to be something more?

I believe that we do need more. But we have to go back in history a bit for some examples. Some of the most enduring stories and legends of the Christian world revolve around people like Robin Hood, King Arthur, and the knights of the Crusades. Having said that, one could ask why these stories just seem to stick. One answer is that there seem to be countless books and movies devoted to the subject. While true, it only feeds into perhaps the real reason. We live in what sometimes seems an empty world. Devoid of any higher meaning. It is assumed that church goers have found their higher purpose. The Holy men and women of the East can seem almost alien to our culture, but you just have to close your eyes and reach out with your feelings and you can sense a power, an energy there. But by and large, there seems to be little in our world to believe in, to have faith in. No higher callings than self service. The old stories I mentioned earlier have a common thread. Once, it was known as the Chivalric Code. One version of it looked like this:

The Ten Commandments of the Code of Chivalry
From Chivalry by Leon Gautier

Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches, and shalt observe all its directions.
Thou shalt defend the Church.
Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.
Thou shalt love the country in the which thou wast born.
Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.
Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without cessation, and without mercy.
Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God. Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word.
Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to everyone.
Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.

Reading this old code, you can almost hear clashing swords and the cries of battling knights! Basically, this code tells us that we must be brave and courageous, loyal and respectful, honest and forthright. We must protect those weaker than ourselves. That, I think, is the single most important aspect. Helping those that are weaker than we are, that cannot help themselves.

Efforts have been made to reclaim some of the spirit of the old code. Those efforts usually are focused in community service organizations such as the Kiwanis, the Jay Cees, the Knights of Columbus, the Freemasons. With the internet, groups of people from around the world have gathered in chat rooms and on message boards, looking for the modern equivalent of the Chivalric Code. One of those communities is the Jedi Realist movement. The members of this community don't believe they can do mind tricks or levitate things, but rather try to apply the philosophies gathered from fiction and apply it to their world. They also have something of a code. Several actually, but all say basically the same thing:

We therefore agree that the ideals of our Order, which will live in our membership, should always be based on the premise that a Jedi must embody at least these principles:
1. Believes in, and has faith in, the Force and the inner strength it provides.
2. Disciplines the mind with study to gain knowledge and wisdom.
3. Disciplines the body with exercise to gain strength of will and of body.
4. Disciplines the spirit through meditation and connection to the Force to gain serenity and focus.
5. Tempers the emotions with self knowledge to gain humility and compassion.
6. Strives to achieve balance in accordance to the will of the Force.
7. Demonstrates respect and compassion for others as well as the self.
8. Serves others rather than rules over them, for the betterment of all.
9. Accepts the responsibility to pass on learning to those who wish to know the Force.
10. Views the world critically and objectively, and is willing to challenge conventional thinking.
11. Strives to use inner strength, conviction and wisdom to defend, protect and serve.
12. Respects life in all its forms.
13. Accepts and exercises the responsibility to do what needs to be done, without thought of recognition or reward.
14. Approaches life in a forthright and honest manner.
15. Faces the challenges of life with courage, humility and wisdom.

This code says many of the same things in a more detailed way. It does add an emphasis on self knowledge.

Why am I so long winded about this? What is it I'm trying to say? The original question was what makes life worth living? I tell you that what makes life worth living is to live to a higher purpose. Our world is one where each of us has countless means of communications available, yet we so rarely talk. We don't want to get involved in the lives and problems of others. We don't want someone else's clutter in our lives.

I say it's a matter of perspective and choice. Some will consider getting involved as opening themselves up to the 'clutter.' For those of you who chose to get involved, I believe that you are participating in life, itself. You grant yourself a much richer and more fulfilling life. One with substance and meaning. It means creating a greater connection between yourself and the world around you. The Buddhists have a concept where life is like an infinitely vast fishing net. Every knot in that net holds a bead. Each bead reflects every other bead. The idea is that all life is interconnected, like the reflections in the beads. Affect one thing, one person's life (hopefully in a positive way) and you have an affect on all things. Raise the level of compassion in the world.

If you've gotten this far, and are still interested, you may be wondering how to achieve this. Start small. With a reasonable goal. Stop and consider what you believe in. Maybe even write down a code of your own to follow. What are you passionate about? Make a pact with yourself to do one thing for someone every day. Help someone study in school. Help a little old lady carry groceries to her car. Hold open a door for a mother or father pushing a baby stroller. I guarantee that if you do this, you will receive a surprised and thankful smile. If you are wanting more, consider doing volunteer work at your local school, library or even hospital. These places always need help. Turning into a glutton, wanting to do more? See if your community has any Community service organizations like those I mentioned earlier. All are looking for new members almost all the time. Especially young, enthusiastic members.

Ok, I've written just about as much as I think I should for one blog entry. Let me close this with a couple of questions. 1. Do you believe that chivalry is dead? 2. How do you think you could help your community

Something's missing these days

When I was a kid, the 21st Century was presented as an era where all our problems would be solved, we’d all own flying cars, would eat our meals in pill form and we’d talk to each other through video radios we wore on our wrists. Well, here we are in 2008 and I still have to cook, my car doesn’t fly (much) but I am communicating through my trusty cell phone.

Life, however, isn’t really any better. Of course, we have the major global problems: Possible global warming (even though a little global warming would be welcomed around here, I think), terrorism, and a political system I think a lot of us have a hard time trusting (when was the last time you voted for someone you wanted, instead of the lesser of two evils?). Social problems I’m not sure we even really see anymore. Poverty, crime, our sons dropping out of school, our daughters bearing children. I heard a statistic on the radio (The Jim Bohanon show) that one in three murdered women are killed by an intimate partner, and one in six of our women have been the victims of sexual abuse. I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing! What are we becoming? What are we teaching our kids?

Evidently, not much.

In the world we know, a two parent family is becoming the exception, rather than the rule. In those families, it’s almost required that both parents work, just to get by. So who’s raising our kids? Schools? Day care? TV and the internet? What kind of example is that setting? Listening to the news, I’d have to say not a very good one. There is just a fundamental something missing.

That something could be called ’Chivalry.’ Now, I’m sure that some of you are rolling your eyes, but think about it. What does chivalry mean? Off the top of most people’s heads, they are thinking about knights, King Arthur and such. If you dig some, you discover that its really much more. It’s about showing respect, helping people that need it, being a true and honest person. It means living for more than just a paycheck and hanging out with friends on the weekend. It means becoming a more ethical and moral person. It means being a good citizen and neighbor. Isn’t that worth working for?

Ok, having brought it up, how does the interested average Joe find out more? If you’re specifically interested in finding out more about what it means to be chivalrous, you can head to the internet and google it and start hunting. I did, and discovered that one of the best sites to learn from is one called www.Chivalrynow.net. There are plenty of good articles to read, even a forum to discuss such topics with like minded people.

We all want a better community in which to raise our kids and to live our lives. We want to be good people and to have our children grow to become good, respectful and caring people. Isn’t it worth some effort?