dagblog - Comments for "Breathe"

A blanket gives warmth and

barefooted — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 20:55:08 +0000

In reply to We take what pleasure we can

A blanket gives warmth and comfort, a book inspires thought and imagination, a stuffed giraffe is a hug. By no means a solution to the overwhelming issue of poverty, yet still a powerful way to inject humanity into the suffering.

Your points are well made and true. Large problems require large answers to a multitude of questions. But while we all wait and hope that those in positions powerful enough to make the big differences do so, we can make small ones.

One bandage will not mend a lost limb, but enough of them combined might save a life. It is absolutely imperative that we be aware of the world around us - "good news" reminds us that we're part of it.

We take what pleasure we can

ocean-kat — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 19:53:37 +0000

In reply to You know, Dick, you're right

We take what pleasure we can from the beauty of nature or we get lost in wonderful stories in films or books. There's nothing wrong with that. I've chosen a life where I'm surrounded by the beauty of nature. I live in a ghost town in the middle of a national forest on all sides I see the beauty of the Arizona rocky mountain desert. The reality is that we here in America have it better than many if not most people in the world. My fate has allowed me to escape the suffering that so many live, and die, with. I don't have to be consumed by that.

Yet I can't be unaware of it. I often don't post on the "good news" threads. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade. But most often when I read about the good news it all seems like...band-aids for amputated limbs. We, our society, our political class, seem incapable of making any serious attempt to deal with the problems we, as a nation, as a world community, face. Some concerned citizens step into the breach and do some good but so little compared to the extent of the problem.

I'm reminded of a recent post about homeless mothers and their children and a group that distributes tens of thousands of care packages to homeless children. A blanket, a book, and a stuffed animal. Yes its a beautiful heartwarming story and I can be moved as, "her son repeatedly hugged his new stuffed animal, a yellow polka-dot giraffe, while her daughter held her smaller giraffe “lovey” and didn’t let it go."

But how impoverished are the children's lives that this small gesture means so much and how insufficient that response as these children often spend years living on the street. Its like handing out band-aids in a war zone to people who have lost an arm. Most often the "good news" seems like that to me. Handing out band-aids for amputated limbs.

This was a joy to read.

trkingmomoe — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 18:45:07 +0000

In reply to Breathe

This was a joy to read. Thanks for posting it.

Lovely, barefooted. I'm

Ramona — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 17:22:58 +0000

In reply to Breathe

Lovely, barefooted. I'm breathing easier already. Thank you.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a

Verified Atheist — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 20:22:46 +0000

In reply to You know, Dick, you're right

Wouldn't it be nice to have a site or network news show devoted entirely to the good stuff?

Of course, "good" is a hard thing to define, but this site isn't bad: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/

You know, Dick, you're right

barefooted — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 18:04:11 +0000

In reply to I am so glad you post

You know, Dick, you're right (as you often are). Wouldn't it be nice to have a site or network news show devoted entirely to the good stuff? People do outstanding and heartwarming things all the time - but all the attention is paid to that which shocks and tends to harden us. Folks like to be uplifted, to know that there's balance. There's a reason cute animal videos are so darned popular!

Thanks for making me smile ... it's all yours.

I think the history of motion

MrSmith1 — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 09:56:21 +0000

In reply to Thank you kindly, Mr. Smith.

I think the history of motion pictures, from the silent era and the pre-code sound era shows a surprisingly wide variety of women's roles; not just the subservient, demure parts or the sex-goddess roles on which popular media often focuses. Independent, strong and capable women were featured in motion pictures long before they were accepted as the norm in society.

I have seen many silent films that have touched me deeply because once you get past the idiosyncrasies of the silent format, the films hit on a basic human truth, which has not, and will not, change.

I am so glad you post

Richard Day — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 05:57:03 +0000

In reply to Breathe

I am so glad you post here!

Poetry is available at Mr. Smith's site (creative corner)

I just recall 1968 when all hell broke loose, the end of the world is nigh.

Well it was not.

Then I spent five years at the Education Library at the UOM and read all New York mags from the early 30's and in every single issue there was a cartoon warning us of the end of the world.

The world shall continue.

Forget politics for awhile, there are great Americans doing great things every single day.

Wondrous things, really!

Smile.

I never really met you, but I truly love your smile!

the end

Thank you kindly, Mr. Smith.

barefooted — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 05:26:28 +0000

In reply to Nice piece, barefooted.

Thank you kindly, Mr. Smith. I've learned alot about films and the history of different genres through places like TCM. And I've been surprised by much of it.

I think conventional wisdom has it that women's roles in the early years of motion pictures were sweet, demure, subservient parts. But while often frowned upon, there was a whole period when strong ladies having sex, getting divorced or having affairs, etc. were all the rage in Hollywood. The times portrayed in many films seem light years away from us now ... but human beings at their core haven't changed that much.

Now, television is very different, as you say. Especially in the way families and society are depicted. Who would have guessed there'd be such a thing as "reality television" - and it would be so bad? I so hope that if those shows are replayed 40 years from now noone will believe that's how we really were!

Nice piece, barefooted.

MrSmith1 — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 02:04:05 +0000

In reply to Breathe

Nice piece, barefooted.

I watch TCM a lot. I love old movies. It is a nice window into the past. Lately, I have also been watching a cable channel called MeTV. They show old ... err, "vintage" TV shows, and on Sunday nights have a late-night "Sunday Night Noir" slate of dramas like the Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Peter Gunn, Naked City, Mr. Lucky and Route 66.

These TV shows portray a very different America. Their serious storylines feel a bit quaint in this day and age; they deal with issues that were important in America in the early to mid-1960's, also known as the America I thought, as a child, that I was going to live in as an adult. Boy was that a huge miscalculation. The world of my adulthood is such a far cry from the adult world I imagined for myself, that it is almost unrecognizable.

I guess most of us grow up believing we are going to inhabit the world we learned about through the TV and movies of our youth and then have to deal with the annoying fact that we become adults in a world that has completely changed ... On the other hand, that's also the fun and the mystery of not knowing what comes next.