The View Up Here

The world reels from the violence that we are committing and enduring on a daily basis. Paris, Beirut, Syria, Israel... the list goes on and on. But also our own streets here in the U.S., where people are dying of hunger and homelessness - that is also violence. Spousal and child abuse. Animal abuse. School shootings. Human-caused or influenced environmental disaster. I'll stop there; you get the idea. This is what humanity is doing to ourselves, to each other. Every day. On Facebook, a rush of support for Paris flooded status updates and profile pics after the terrorist attacks were made known across the globe - much as the world offered support for the U.S. after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But then came a backlash of posts and memes, including one that starts out "It is not Paris we should pray for."  Okay, on one hand, I get it. We need to pray and act on behalf of the entire world, not just one city, because...see Para 1. But at the same time, I found the me...

Is mercy really for EVERYONE?  The recent kurfluffle over the Pope's meeting with Kim Davis has demonstrated to me that despite claims of being tolerant and open-minded, some of us are only willing to display mercy to those who are in alignment with our views.  First of all, if you're not up on this issue,  read this clarification on what actually did and did not take place. Also, feast your eyes on this gem of an article  by Robert David Sullivan for America Magazine that warns us of more of this kind of incendiary and wildly inaccurate reporting in presidential campaign coverage to come. Oh, yay. If you don't feel like reading all that, here are a few salient points: The Pope met with dozens of people in what amounted to an assembly line-type of visit, including Kim Davis. Davis described her 15 minutes with the Pope as a private meeting. It was not.  The Pope DID have an audience with an old friend of his, who happens to be gay...

The impact of this week's immense losses to pop culture and media gluttony has yet to be revealed. I am especially saddened by Farrah's untimely passing. As girls, my best friend and I would play "Charlie's Angels," and Farrah was beyond any level of our imagined attainment. When other blonde TV actresses in the 60s-70s-80s were playing the ditzy bimbo (Suzanne Sommers, Goldie Hawn - don't get me wrong I love Goldie but c'mon), Farrah quit "Charlie's Angels" and did "The Burning Bed." Her fight, her spirit, her work are to be commended. Michael Jackson. King of Pop. Pedophile. I'm sick of the glorification of his personal life. The man was mentally ill and could've used some help while he was alive. Let's hope and pray someone helps his three kids. Ed McMahon was a class act on the Tonight Show, though I have no idea of the man as a human being. He left late night a legacy every bit as much as Johnny did. As a Buddhis...