Prairie

Long grass flows as an ocean breeze,
Skies; pale blue dotted by scant white clouds.
Ground alive, insects abound.
Birds sing in scattered trees.


A spring day on the prairie


Skies so dark, the black of night,
Birds of prey sleep and rest.
Buffalo graze and stand quiet,
Stars and moon, the only light.


A spring night on the prairie


Lightning cracks to split the night,
Rain falls to quench the land.
Plants renew and spring forth,
All try to stay out of sight.


A spring storm on the prairie


Ground cracks, hard as clay,
The sun beams down without remorse.
Hawks fly high overhead,
Heat waves give land sway.


A summer day on the prairie


Hot winds blow, turn to cold,
Swirling torrents of dirt and grass.
Howling screams pierce the air.
The tornado’s path is told.


A summer storm on the prairie


The days now warm, night’s cool,
Leaves fall and float.
The moon so large and pale,
Birds fly south and soon.


Autumn on the prairie


The northern hawk blows,
The prairie dog barks.
Rabbits scurry,
Snow covers and flows.


Winter on the prairie


Rows of corn stand tall,
Seas of grain do wave.
Parking lots paved,
All to the shopping mall.


The prairie today

Ed Williams
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Word of the day - Part I - Our government series

The word for the day is complacency. Definition: The feeling you have when you are satisfied with yourself.

This nation and its population have fallen into the euphoric state of complacency. Our standards have fallen due to this unrealistic province of satisfaction. Too many facets of our social structure are falling into decay. The overconfidence in our elected officials and the omni presences of an out of touch government has led us here.

This nation was founded on the concepts of all people can become/achieve anything through hard work. Instead we have become a nation of expectant wanters. “Give me, I need, I want.”

It is not now, nor has it ever been the responsibility of the government to give us anything. Work, desire and patience are what every American needs to survive and even prosper, and always has.

Looking for a quick fix is not only dangerous, but hazardous to the health and well being of any social institution. Taking a problem, viewing its long term growth and shortcomings, than find an accurate and concise solution for its resolution, no other course of action is prudent.

Our federal government has gotten too large and powerful to address the needs of the people. Over time this same government has taken power and responsibility away from our state and local authorities. This, in itself, has created a bureaucratic quagmire. Once a minor problem is identified, the machine debates how to address it. Studies, subcommittees, committees, back to a study group, then yet another committee… on and on it goes. When a solution is finally agreed upon for the problem, the measures are far from adequate. Like placing a band aid on a broken leg.

When this nation came into being, the central government was little more than a tie to bind the individual states together in a common union. States’ rights and responsibilities stood at the forefront. The loyalties of the people fell first to the state and second to the federal government.

Any government this vast and wide spread cannot hope to satisfactorily meet the needs of the people it was formed to serve. A dollar in the hands of an individual will go to meet their needs, 100%. The same dollar in the hands of the federal government, 95% goes to the needs of the government with a mire 5% goes to the people and they have to share that!

Far too long the federal government played with our money to create situations which could have been solved easier on a smaller scale! Health care, poverty, starvation and social security to name only a few areas our government has not only helped to exacerbate, but are put on the critical list for life support.

The government is in debt beyond all reason and still cannot fulfill the promises they keep making. Why, you ask? Complacency, of our elected officials and us, you and me! We are far down the path leading to the road of destruction, but it is not too late to change directions.

If this trend continues, the federal government spending money it does not possess and usurping the rights of the states and their people, how long will we be the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?

Complacency is a word we can ill afford to practice. Once the Roman Empire became complacent, it fell. Are we traveling down that same road to destruction and obsolescence?

Ed Williams
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Price

Everything in life costs. Weigh the price to the cost before committing. Whether it is time, effort or money, insure your value by considering all aspects. A fool hearty decision may be more than you can afford.

Ed Williams
©

A little House cleaning – 8/29/2004

As I said when I first started this site, I was going to try and put something new on it everyday (normally around midnight central time, USA). The essay I was going to put up for today is not ready; it needs a little more work. In order to not go back on my word, I have put a couple of my older essays up from last Feb. and Dec. This way I can, over time get most, if not all the older ones up and posted for you to look over once more.

This site is doing as well as I had expected, but not as well as I had hoped (in some ways). I know there are people viewing it from over the world and hoped anyone that had not been getting my essays before would have a comment or two to make about my work. This just does not seem to be the case. Maybe my articles are not as thought provoking as I envisioned. Maybe I just have not found the right subject matter yet. This in no way is going to make me stop. I feel strongly about many different things and will continue to write.

The comments I have gotten so far are from friends and family, thanks. You are my support group and one of the reasons I continue to write.

I am getting back in touch with the book I’m writing and will be splitting my writing time between the site and the book. Keeping in a writing mode may help to get the book finished in the just several months and ready for a family/friends view/edit. At that point I hope to have it go out to a publisher and be put in print.

As I have said many times, all comments are welcome, either good or bad. I want to know what people really think. After all, one of the reasons for the essays and articles is to provoke thought. It seems one of the major problems in this world is that people just don’t think for themselves.

Rise up and speak, all voices have something to say. Even if they are off key.

Ed Williams

A child?

If it takes a whole village to raise a child, who pays for the college tuition?


Ed Williams
©

More complex than it looks

If right is right and wrong is wrong. What’s left?

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Political Ads

This year is a charged political year, but what election year isn’t? There have been accusations flying back and forth, side to side, concerning backgrounds, standards and beliefs. As we all know, this is politics: He who throws the most mud and comes out the cleanest, wins. Over the past several months, starting in some state campaigns, the ads began to change. Not that they stopped demeaning their opponent, but they, the candidate, stated they had approved the message. This is indeed an improvement over past elections. Many times something would be said in an ad and later the candidate would refute ever even hearing about it. In essence every word or picture is what the candidate believes in and wants you to see and hear. There is no way they can claim they had nothing to do with it. Why not make all political ads this way?

Take this idea one step further. Every time an ad airs which does not address the issues but is an attack on the opponent, either veiled or direct, place a black mark against that candidate, not the one being attacked. Then on Election Day, vote for the candidate with the least black marks.

With these two small, minor changes, a cleaner campaign would be run and the public could truly hear what the candidate has planned if and when they gain office. It is time we hold the political system’s feet to the fire. They are the leaders of this country, their conduct should stand along side the position they hold.

We have laws governing truthful practices in everything from loans to advertising in general. Isn’t a political ad an advertisement? Are they not trying to sell something? If we will not accept false advertisements from the local merchant, why then do we not only allow, but condone it from a politician?

We, the people, need to join together in this first step to clean up our political system. The time of lies, half truths and propaganda needs to come to an immediate and screeching halt. Band together America, fight for your rights as a citizen of this great nation.

Why should we elect a person to office who only claims to have the answer? Make them show us what and how they will achieve their plans for the future of this country and us. Without depreciating the each other, they should give us outlines and timetables for the facelift they want to give the government. Not just a sound bite here and there, but some real meat on the issues.


A person in the gutter can not raise themselves up by pulling another down.


Ed Williams

©

Me? A bio?

I have been asked via e-mail to put more of a bio about myself on the site. I hesitate because this is a site devoted to ideas, not me. What do you think? Do you want to know a little more about me and maybe try and understand why I think the way I do? On this, I need feedback. Use the comments to let me know what you want. Do you want me to add an e-mail address just in case you don’t want your comments aired on the site?


Ed

Imaginings

I see the vibrant colors of the dark,
Hear the silence of the trees as they talk.

Feel the heat of moonlight on stain colored glass,
Feel the loneliness of company at long last.

Say the words that no one speaks,
Know the truth no one seeks.

Fly on wings of feathery lace,
Eat the dish no one tastes.

Swim the sea of desert sun,
See the sadness of no ones fun.

Know the things that can’t be taught,
Win the battle that can’t be fought.

The heat of night, the cold of day,
The side trek we bypassed along the way.

The taste of light, the smell of sound,
Feel the lies upon the ground.

All this life, imaginings.


©

A Child is like a Bonsai

No matter how much time, effort and care you give them. No matter how much shaping, tending or pruning. Both the child and the bonsai will show their genetic makeup at some point and some way. They never turn out just the way you want them to. In some cases this can be a pleasant surprise, other times it’s just a surprise. Live with it.

©

Thought for the day or week

Enthusiasm is a fiery steed only handled with the gentle hand of reason and bridled with intelligence.






Please leave a comment on something here as it is the only way I have to track and see if anyone is really looking. I hope someday in the future to remedy that.


Ed
©

A Look at History

“What experience and history teach is this-- that people and governments never have learned anything from history.” - George Wilhelm Hegel

There are many lessons out there nobody seems to be learning. This is the case now. I need for you to go with me on a trip, a trip in history.

You are now in a land where only the privileged few live in the lap of luxury with the best things money can buy. They have the best food, housing, transportation and literature. The masses, on the other hand, only have the bare necessities, and many times even those are in short supply. The resources of the land are all around you, but you have no rights to them. There is little to nothing you can do to better yourself. The few are your masters, they own everything including you, and they have the support of the religious practitioners. After many years, you come to believe this is the only way of things. The leaders control your everyday lives, the religion tells you that only in heaven will things be better, on this earth, you must suffer. Generation after generation live and die under this rule, it has become ingrained that nothing can change it. There is no need for a better way to travel, you never go more an a few miles from your home your entire life. There is no need for literature, you are told everything you need to know.

A land, not too far away, things are very different. Yes, there are leaders that have everything, but the common man has the right to better himself and does. Knowledge and learning is not limited to the few, but the masses also have access to it. Communication and education are available to all. Many of the people travel far from their birthplaces to learn and live. There are advances in areas you never dreamt. There is tolerance of the differences in people, not fear.

Though the two lands are not that far apart, few really know anything about the better lives these other people live, or anything about them at all. These other people are savages and will kill you if they get the chance, so you are told. Your leaders send armies to this other land to battle, only to have few return, and they carry with them tales of horror. This only reinforces your belief that this other land and its people only want an end to you and your beliefs. You support your leaders without question and believe they are right, after all, they know more than you do.

This time in history is known as the dark ages. The lands are those of Christian Europe and the Arab world. The outlook of the two worlds was so different, neither could understand the other. Europe embraced the control of the church and saw no need to better its way of life, as all rewards would come in heaven, not on earth. The Arabs saw the world as a place to explore and science as a new frontier. The divine right of kings kept small and closed minds men in power while the rest of the world moved beyond that to bigger and better things. With the onslaught of the renaissance, many things changed, but it took years for enlightenment to take hold. Once it did, there were advances in science and technology in leaps and bounds.

This brings us to the present, here and now. We look at the Arab world and wonder how they can live the way they do. They have most of the world’s oil, yet have fewer cars to drive. They have the world throwing money at them, yet live at what we would call the poverty level. Though there are many very well educated men and women there, the masses have a very limited range of knowledge.

It seems the tables have been turned. The world has left the realm of fundamental, religious zealots, yet the Arabs seem to have embraced it. No longer are they in the golden age of knowledge, but in the dark ages of close-mindedness. When a religious fundamentalist leader gains control of people, knowledge, and reason, tolerance is lost, and replaced with dictates.
I am not saying the entire Arab world falls into this category, but a large portion not only does, but also helps to reinforce it. They send armies to battle the non-believers. These are not the large armies of the past, but small groups that spread terror and death to any and all who do not believe their way.

Do not look for rapid change to come, even with our help. If we force them to believe our way, are we really any better than they are? The only things we can do, is show another way and hope they see the light of freedom and open mindedness.

Just think of the ways this world could be better if we, ourselves, had not spent centuries in the dark ages. Who knows what advances we would have now? Only a helping hand and desire can open a closed mind. Once opened, there is no limit to what can happen. If you look at all the cultures on this earth, you will see each as undergone these changes. China, Japan, Europe, and yes, even the United States, but to a smaller extent, all have had their ups and downs. No one in any of these governments seemed to have the wisdom to learn from history and stop the process before it went too far.

History is an animal best studied with care, patience, caution and an open mind.

Ed Williams
Edcat01@tds.net

©

This Political Year

As we all are quite aware, this is once again a political year. Not just a year of politics, but that glorious time when we hear, over and over again why one person or another should lead this country.

With the looming election drawing near, more satire erupts from the bowels of indignation we hold so dear for all elected and want-a-be icons of political power. Some cutting articles, jokes or pictures show a sense of humor, others are just maleficent. With years in office to degrade an official, we pick the pre-election period to jab, insult and injure the newest candidate running for the position. As the holder of the office has had their time in the lime light, it seems only fair, or is it? The airways and printed media become filled to overflowing, spouting this or that, at or about the newcomer. This is free advertisement. In some cases I believe the campaign manager may even initiate them. As with any flock of sheep, when we get an e-mail, we send it on to most everyone we know.

This is not to say this is right, wrong or indifferent, but the American public votes for the person they remember by name, if not the party affiliation. Name recognition IS the name of the game. Anyone selling a product yearns for name recognition: from the store you shop, the fast food restaurant you stop at, movie star you look for or the political candidate. All covet the idea of you remembering their name.

A friend recently told me they planned to vote for the candidate they received the most nonfactual e-mails about. This is when the point hit me hard, right between the eyes. Yes, the jokes may be entertaining if not funny, but we need to contemplate the cold, hard facts about the person, not the propaganda spreading throughout the land. We are in the midst of the four year locust known for political rhetoric and posturing. With redolent and impassioned speeches, catchy jingles and slogans, the public is lead away from the necessary information required to make an informed decision. Advertising geniuses possessing the skill of a master magician use slight of hand to mislead and misdirect your attention away from the issues the candidates wish to skirt or even avoid all together.

We all know politicians will say or do almost anything to achieve their goal and later, renege on campaign promises. Why then do we still stand idly by and harken to the siren call of the pied piper? Is this wishful thinking or just a bad memory on our part? We live in difficult times, but when are times truly easy. The leadership of this nation impacts on the world as a whole. Where we go, the world leaders look upon and scrutinize. In the past we have had leaders covering the full gambit from great to the incompetent. We are, for the most part, an image driven culture. Do we want the world to see us, the United States, led by anyone other than the best for the job?

It is not too late to seek out the facts. Stop listening to the rhetoric spouted by the media, relatives, friends and neighbors. Dig deeply for the precious gems of fact and truth. Seek out what these political demigods are hiding and what they truly stand for. Character, knowledge, force of will and a desire to better this nation are required. Not the hollow promises of shallow idealism that will never come to fruition.

A true leader is a unique individual. Often these qualities lay dormant until the time is right and they are pressed into service. The world has seen examples of this in the likes of Sir Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower. These men did not come to the forefront until their countries and the world were in dire straits and their skills needed. We live daily in the shadow of their efforts. The bright shadow only freedom can cast.

We now sit upon the precipice of darkness. An evil, real or perceived, stalks this nation and our very way of life. Without an insightful guiding hand, this great country will plunge head first into chaos. Intuitive and honest selection of our leadership is vital. Do nothing and doom will look you in the eyes and not blink. Are you able to stand steadfastly and glare back defiantly? Without the dedication of our elected officials, we may find out.

I can not and will not tell you who to vote for, but if this nation fails due to inferior leadership of our choosing, there is no one to blame but ourselves. Not casting a vote is not an option, but vote wisely, it’s your voice. Silence in the election of our governing officials is not golden.

Look to the future by virtue of the past.

Ed Williams
Edcat01@tds.net

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