my sometimes-skeptical social commentary

Archive for the ‘war or peace’ Category

You know those belated birthday cards that you send to people when you forgot to send one on time? I saw a card once that said that by sending it late, the person was extending their celebration of their birthday. Like a birthday week.

So here is my Martin Luther King, Jr. quote to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Week:

As I have moved to break the betrayal of my own silences and to speak from the burnings of my own heart … many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my path. At the heart of their concerns this query has often loomed large and loud: Why are you speaking about war, Dr. King? Why are you joining the voices of dissent? Peace and civil rights don’t mix, they say. Aren’t you hurting the cause of your people, they ask? And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling. Indeed, their questions suggest that they do not know the world in which they live.

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence.”

Today’s answer is to question 4: What am I least likely to do?

First the responses:

The people who gave a real answer said that I was least likely to join the Navy, and that’s the right answer, but this is kind of a trick question, because I’m also very unlikely to buy a Windows computer, which is kind of what the person who gave a long answer said:

Get rich, maybe, but I doubt it, you are generous. Buy a windows? No Way! Join the Navy? Sorry, too old! Become famous, are you not already??

I gave a trick question in order to spark some kind of discussion.

• I wouldn’t buy a Windows computer because the Apple computers I use are so darn good. And in fact, if I did need to use a Windows application (for some unforeseen reason) I would just use Boot Camp to install Windows on one of my Apple computers.
• I wouldn’t join the Navy because I am anti-war. This may leave little room for discussion, I realize, but there you go.

So that leaves two kind of silly options for you to choose, get rich or get famous. I suppose I wouldn’t mind being rich, but in general I don’t care if I have more money than I can spend.

What would you never do?

At least you had flowers, you . . . spoiled . . . (trying not to say a bad word here…) . . .

(from cnn.com)

NEW YORK (AP) — The wedding was lovely, except for the flowers: They were the wrong color.

So says the bride, Elana Glatt, who was so upset that she sued the florist and alleged breach of contract.

She says Posy Floral Design in Manhattan substituted pastel pink and green hydrangeas for the dark rust and green ones she had specified for 22 centerpieces.

Not only that, she alleges that the hydrangeas were wilted and brown, and arranged in dusty vases without enough water.

“The use of predominantly pastel centerpieces had a significant impact on the look of the room and was entirely inconsistent with the vision the plaintiffs had bargained for,” Glatt, a lawyer, said in the lawsuit, filed on behalf of herself, her husband, David, and her mother-in-law, Tobi Glatt, who paid for the flowers.

The flowers cost $27,435.14. The lawsuit asks for more than $400,000 in restitution and damages.

Stamos Arakas, the florist, said that he and his wife, Paula, tried to match the color of the hydrangeas with a picture Glatt had given them, but explained to her that the colors might not look the same.

“My father used to tell me, ‘Don’t deal with the lawyers,” Arakas said. “Maybe he was right, God bless his soul.”

I remember this one time I was reading the news, and it was actual bad news. When was that, oh yeah, this morning, when I read about how 24 religious pilgrims were killed in Iraq.

I got a personalized email today from the local Army recruiter:

The U.S. Army has a place for you.

Dear Thomas,
As your local Army Recruiter, I’d like to tell you about the many opportunities the Army has to offer students like yourself. Whether you know the path you want to take after college or are still deciding, the Army has many opportunities to suit your needs.

Note that it is personalized. And it is signed by a particular recruiter with a particular email address. So it really seems like it was sent to me on purpose.

But I’m waaaay too old to join the army. If the message was personalized to this extent, how did they not know I’m so old?

Oh, and the other thing. I’m a pacifist.

here‘s a good one…

A homeowners’ association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.

Some residents who have complained have children serving in Iraq, said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs.

He said some residents believed the wreath was a symbol of Satan. Three or four residents complained, he said.

“Somebody could put up signs that say drop bombs on Iraq. If you let one go up you have to let them all go up,” he said in a telephone interview Sunday.

Lisa Jensen said she wasn’t thinking of the war when she hung the wreath. She said, “Peace is way bigger than not being at war. This is a spiritual thing.”

Jensen, a past association president, calculates the fines will cost her about $1,000, and doubts they will be able to make her pay. But she said she’s not going to take it down until after Christmas.

“Now that it has come to this I feel I can’t get bullied,” she said. “What if they don’t like my Santa Claus?”

The association in this 200-home subdivision 270 miles southwest of Denver has sent a letter to her saying that residents were offended by the sign and the board “will not allow signs, flags etc. that can be considered divisive.”

The subdivision’s rules say no signs, billboards or advertising are permitted without the consent of the architectural control committee.

Kearns ordered the committee to require Jensen to remove the wreath, but members refused after concluding that it was merely a seasonal symbol that didn’t say anything.

Kearns fired all five committee members.

…kinda makes me want to get some wreath-making materials….