Incredibly well put, RicB! Paul Bruesch Stillwater, MN On Dec 30, 2007 3:12 PM, Richard Brekne <ricb at pianostemmer.no> wrote: > Hi Alan > > I would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy, hale and hardy New > Year. > > The same back to you ! > > I dread the upcoming avalanche of political BS, nastiness, and hard > feelings that we in America are about to experience. Let us resolve > to not partake of any negativity among our pianotech community, > friends and colleagues, regardless. > > Why are you expecting more political BS then usual prey tell ? > > We are still at war and things just took a very nasty turn with the > murder of Benazir Bhutto. As I see it, this war, of which Iraq is > only one skirmish, will likely last for many long years; and that > will be regardless of who is elected next November. Let us resolve > to remember that what we share as free people in free nations is > bigger than our political or religious disagreements and that > freedom, itself, is more fragile than we can imagine. > > Hmm... Hard to avoid debate here when disagreements go deep into the > whole basis for why the US is <<at war>>. As for the fragile freedom... > last I checked it looked rather shattered already.... barely hanging > together as it were. My own personal take on all this is that Orwell was > far more foresighted then we even now give him credit for... and that > the golden heyday of great western democratic adventure of the past 300 > or so years is hastening to its end. The US's power is spent and > overextended, regardless of the reasoning behind the various sorties of > the recent past. Its % of the GWP is dwindling and on a probable > irreversible downwards spiral whilst China now nearly equals it and is > on a very steep upwards curve.... conveniently they also have a > non-intervention policy which basically holds their international > engagements budget to zip diddly. The EU is slowly consolidating... but > probably will be to late to assume leadership in the world. Our > grandchildren at the latest will see a world in which Asia calls the > shots... what will become of the Americas is anyones guess. An ominous > uncertain future is in front of us to be sure. Democracy in any real > sense of the word is already being shoed out the back door. Nasty shame > if you ask me. Anyone ever seen a painting of the city of Rome anno > circa 1000 A.D. ? Scary thought. But then I suppose in the end it is > inevitable. Grin... I wonder how long it will be when someone will > seriously try to interpret the right to bear arms to include your > average backpack sized nuke.... > > Other than those two somber thoughts, I have resolved, absolutely, > to make no New Year's Resolutions whatsoever; so far I have been > completely successful in that resolve. > > On these more then somber words I'd remind you all of a Christian > precept... one that I tend to see as more then reasonable despite not > being particularly religious myself... at least in the usual sense of > the word. Mankind... despite all his/hers good intentions and efforts > are doomed to fail... and have been since the proverbial original sin or > beginning if you prefer. In the end our inability to get along with > ourselves and our environment will be our undoing. Indeed... thats the > main justification for the need of salvation. I'm not all that sure > about the salvation bit... but that we in the end don't quite <<make > it>> isn't hard to see. In fact I find it more then a little difficult > to shut out enough of that vision for my daily dose of sanity. > > Still... we have ourselves.. and those we can influence... and there is > more then a little comfort in that thought. We CAN choose to be part of > that which stands against the tide... to resist the prevalence of evil. > That <<fight>> doesn't start with any far away war or distant woe. It > starts in each of our own hearts.... with the will to reach out in > friendship instead of fiendishness. The willpower to not lash out in > scorn or criticism or worse. Or... as another one of my favorite folks > so many claim faith in said it... to love even ones enemies.... to turn > the other cheek when struck. We CAN as individuals choose which life we > ourselves will live. > > Best wishes to all and Happy New Year! Stay tuned ... > > Best wishes to you to Alan.... and don't worry about staying tuned... > not much of a choice really. Besides... whatever the future may bring I > doubt seriously it will be boring. > > Cheers > RicB > > > Alan Barnard > Salem, MO > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20071230/1a29af76/attachment.html
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