After reading the post, I Googled the television program and watched a few clips.  As I am not into reality television, it really wouldn’t be a program I would watch regularly.  However, as it is a reality television show, I found it to be quite enlightening.  People will spend hours watching others humiliate themselves in the various reality television shows that seem to consume the digital air ways these days.  But a show that wants to educate and enlighten the general population is hit with bigotry and hatred.

I didn’t stop with just looking at the website for All American Muslim, I also Googled the controversy with Lowe’s.  It seems that not all American’s are bigots like Lowe’s and their new-found supporters for pulling their advertising.  It seems there are many who are now boycotting Lowe’s because of this.

It is true that this is a country with the freedom of choice.  I choose not to hate.  I choose to look at everyone as human beings, until they (as in this case with some who posted their support in a very ugly manner on Lowe’s FB page) prove that they have the mannerisms of wild animals.

The month of December is for many a holy month with the celebration of Chanukah, Ramadan, Kwanza and Christmas.  All of these promote peace and good will toward others.  Apparently not all who keep these holidays believe in what they stand for.

A couple centuries ago some Native Americans went up against the new comers to their land and the hatred of the Native American began.  Some were savages so the settlers decided that ALL were savages.

Decades ago, blacks fought back because of the ill treatment they received due to the fact that their ancestors were brought here as slaves.  They were hated because they were different and fought back.

Today, a handful of people who happen to be Muslim become radical and turn their rage on Americans, therefore Americans hate ALL Muslims.

Hatred, bigotry, prejudice; whatever name you give it, it is a disease worse than the black plague.  An idea is planted and begins to fester and grow until it is full blown and violence ensues.  We must end this or we will not have a future world for those who come after us.

I had intended to write a post today to include my latest piece of writing.  It fits perfectly here.  Many of you know the song by John Lennon War Is Over.  It is only played during this time of year.  I only came to know this song a few years ago and I cry every time I hear it.  This is the biggest mistake of Mr. Lennon (I have blogged this before).  This song needs to be heard year round.

Since I keep Chanukah, many are surprised that I spend hours listening to a supposed Christmas song, but I do.  Tuesday night, trying to get into the Chanukah spirit, I put on some music and forgot I added War Is Over to the mix.

I was resting and listening when the song began to play.  I found myself sitting up and my pen was in my hand with a note pad.  The following words found their way to my page as a re-write of Mr. Lennon’s song.  I do give him credit on this one as well, this is just my version to make it more universal to be heard year-round.

War Is Over (Look To The Future)

Look to the future
and what you have done
one life is over
a new one just begun

Just look to the future
I hope you had fun
with your near ones and dear ones
your old and your young

Here’s to your future
and every New Year
can you make them good ones
without any fear

Here’s to the future
for the weak and the strong
for the rich and the poor ones
the road is very long

Let’s look to the future
for black and for white
for the yellow and red ones
we must end all the fights

Here’s to the future
and every New Year
can you make them good ones
without any fear

Look to the future
what have you done?
One life is over
a new one just begun

Just look to the future
I hope you had fun
with your near ones and dear ones
your old and your young

Here’s to our future
and every New Year
can we make them good ones
without any fear?

War IS over
IF you want it
War IS over
NOW!!!

December 13, 2011

© John Lennon & DL Bach

To keep the peace is not just a purpose of law enforcement.  Peace has been sought by groups and individuals alike for generations.  Many times these people are labeled “peacemakers” and “dreamers”.  I stand before you accused.  I can only hope you find me guilty as charged.

Growing up, my kinfolk would speak derogatorily and make fun of other groups of people they deemed lesser.  This broke my heart and cut me to the core. Especially when they would speak differently in the open.

All through school and college when studying history, my heart broke.  From the torture of the Native Americans to the inhumane treatment of Negros to the mass murder of Jews and other “undesirables” in Nazi concentration camps the pain I felt was wretched.  But this was nowhere near what these others suffered at the hands of terrorists.

I grew up hearing music by John Lennon, Bob Dylan and others who wrote and performed songs laden with the message of peace.  This message was not specific to any particular genre and had no boundaries.

Recently, I sat in awe and watched as the Egyptian people stood and fought back against their oppressive government.  We are still watching as other nations are following the same path.

For some time now I have been writing poems about peace.  In December 2010, a friend in Second Life ® asked me to come to her group and read my poems of peace and then perhaps stay around and DJ a gig so they could dance and have a party.  I agreed.  As I pondered this event, I decided instead to do something never done in Second Life ® before, I interlaced my poems into a special playlist of music with one theme.

I dubbed this setup to be the genre of peace and began my research for appropriate music.  I wanted my listeners to be surprised not only by my poetry, but by the selection of music as well.  I was extremely surprised throughout my research and included music from a variety of genres including jazz, blues, rock and even Celtic.

Keeping the peace and being a peacemaker should not be left to police officers and dreamers.  This is a right and a privilege of every human being.  Learning to accept people is the first step in co-existing on this tiny planet.  The way I end my peace program is to charge all my listeners to go out, walk up to someone they don’t know (and probably wouldn’t befriend) and hug them.  Then tell them you are glad they are alive.  I so charge each of you now.

What is the verdict?  Am I guilty?

Not being awake at that hour, I received the news as soon as I got up and turned on the television for my morning news fix.  I sat on my couch with my tea watching in stunned quasi-awareness while the reporters provided information as if a mama bird feeding her hungry hatchlings.  I could not believe that Mr. Bin Laden’s reign of terror was finally over.  Still in the back of my mind, I knew his people would pick up the torch and carry on in his ways.

It has now been six days and everyone keeps saying that justice has been served and this is a United States victory.  I beg to differ.

Don’t get me wrong, I was completely devastated on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 when the announcements came through my radio speakers telling of the planes crashing into the towers in New York City.  I spent days watching in horror as all the details began coming to the surface.  Being as patriotic as I am, I finally had to shut everything off. I could not watch the news or even read my newspaper.  In fact, I saved those papers to read at a later date.  I still have not been able to read them.  I felt as if someone reached in and ripped out my heart and left me bleeding on the inside.  I cried every night after coming home from work knowing that someone came in and hurt the country that I love.  On September 16, 2001 I finally finished the song I wrote about it called Unity.

But, has justice really been served?  I cannot say that it has, in my opinion.  To me having justice served means the perpetrator, in this case Usama Bin Laden, will be arrested, stand trial, be found guilty and then be sentenced and serve that sentence.  There are many who are disputing the reports that Mr. Bin Laden is in fact deceased.  They feel seeing photos will provide the needed proof of his demise.  Photos have been faked since photography came to be.  However, a trial and much witnessed sentencing would have been true justice providing more belief throughout the world.

Speaking of the world….My other issue in all of this as it being a United States victory.  Yes, Usama Bin Laden was at the top of the FBI most wanted, but he was also at the top of the world’s most wanted.  This man did not just terrorize the United States, he terrorized every country in the world.  It may have been an American that pulled the trigger, but the victory belongs to the world.  Furthermore, this is only a minor victory.  The head has been cut off, but this species of snake has a way of continuing on and growing a new head.

True victory will come in the form of real world peace.  This will only come when we, as human beings (and yes the terrorists are also human beings) begin to accept each other and our differences and find common ground.  There are those who may say there is no common ground between Al Qaeda and the rest of the world.  But there is one thing we all have in common, WE ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS.  Just because we have different skin color and beliefs doesn’t mean we are unworthy of each other.

There was a line in a song in the movie Oklahoma that keeps running through my mind, “I’m not saying that I’m better than anybody else, but I’ll be danged if I ain’t just as good”.

True justice isn’t necessarily served when one man (even if sanctioned by the leader of a nation) takes the life of the one being sought.  And one nation has no right to claim personal victory when the capture (or killing) of a terrorist belongs to the entire world.

Those who know me know how much I love history.  I love seeing it.  I love hearing about it.  I love writing about it.  I just plain ole love history.

Last week I was watching PBS Create as they were running all their pieces about Ireland all day long to get people ready for Irish Day.  I learned a lot watching these shows.   As some of the hosts discussed the history of the areas they were in and touched on the beginnings of St. Patrick’s Day, my mind wandered.

Considering the history of various countries that I have read about or studied and how far back they date sent me further into my reverie.  In America it is B.C. and A.C. (Before Columbus and After Columbus) with A.C. making this America.

I have traced part of my ancestry back to 18th century America and then through to 14th century Scotland.  I am sure I can go back even further with it when I have time.  But what about the history of the country I live in?  Why can’t the history of this land be taught the same way a person sets out to trace their family ancestry?

America did not start to exist when Mr. Columbus (or as some historians relate, St. Brendan) laid eyes on it.  There were people living here already.  They worked, they loved and they played.  These people created America and should be given the respect never afforded them for this success.  Perhaps they were many tribes, living in one land without one government, but history doesn’t teach it that way, some would have us believe these people lived in chaos.

I have enjoyed the friendship of a couple of Native Americans and found them to have a certain pride that I have not seen in any other American.  It wasn’t a false pride, nor did it seem to be something that they emitted consciously.  It was something that I wish I understood and knew more to want to learn from it and to simply enjoy it.  I lost touch with one of those friends over the years and the other, whom I bonded with over our poetry, passed away in the prime of his life due to kidney disease.

Perhaps the government of the United States of America is just over 200 years old, however, the richness of this lands history dates back to the beginning of time.  Teaching the history of this land should flow smoothly and fluently back through the ages to include those who were overtaken so that the current government could reign.

Take pride in the history of your land and your people.  Don’t be afraid to acknowledge who you are.

This morning I was watching Good Morning America and took a breath to sip coffee whilst Robin was interviewing Gayle King regarding the upcoming issue of O Magazine.  This made me think of recent news casts on my local stations and how segregation still exists in the United States.

Hit the Pause button before you snap my head off.

In the recent past here in the south there have been some semi-major issues regarding the flying and wearing of the confederate rebel flag also known as Stars And Bars.  While it is not necessarily displayed as a racial evince, there are those who do take offense with it because of historical connotations.  I can understand this as I have issues with the swastika.  I am not making an attempt to get inside the mind of anyone else and try to figure out why they do the things they do.  I just want to look at blatant segregation that is usually not viewed as such.

When the word segregation is used, most people think about the Civil Rights movement regarding the segregating of blacks and whites.  The word segregation means to separate, usually with regard to race, class or ethnic group.  So where is my mind going?  Walk this way, please…..

There is  new segregation in the United States to go along with the obvious racial segregation I have already alluded to.  I want to bring this up before I move further into the heart of the motivation for this post.  Homosexuality is the new racial issue.  I grew up being told that homosexuality is wrong and I should have nothing to do with anyone who practices this. (Mind you I was also told that I should have nothing to do with anyone who was black other than allowing them to breath the same air I breath)

I have a good number of those I claim as associate, acquaintance and even friend who are homosexual.  I am proud to claim these relationships and know in my heart that they are some of the best human beings I know.  So why is the United States trying to segregate them?

Human beings are human beings.  You have those who are downright wicked and evil and you have those who are everything good and kind and then there are those who reside in the middle.

Back to segregation.

I have noticed, mostly on local news casts, that it seems to be okay for a black reported to cover the occasional “white” story, but only black reporters cover “black” stories.  What’s with this?  Robin Roberts was the one to interview Gayle King.  This is national news coverage.  Is a white reporter incapable of interviewing a black person?  It has become predictable on my local news.  If there is a story about to air regarding a black person, church, etc I am assured that a black reporter will cover it.  However, I rarely see the same black reporters covering local stories about white people, churches, etc.

This is blatant segregation.  The back reporters are just as qualified as the white reports and perhaps more so.  They should be able to cover every story as well. I am not saying this is what happened this morning on GMA as I am sure the story would have been covered just as well had George conducted the interview, it is just that it drew my attention to the more local issue.

Homosexual couples are more and more in the news and how the “church” is trying to keep them from having rights that are afforded to all other couples.  This is a form of segregation.  We are separating these vital people and telling them they are not allowed to exist in this country the way everyone else does.  They have to conform to what we want them to be or they have to leave.  As a country we did this to the Indians and blacks in a major way.

This is also being done to other “minority” groups in the form of bullying.  Living peaceful means we accept all other human being for the sheer reason that they are human beings.  Every person is different and deserves the same respect as everyone else.  Segregation needs to be abolished, not the people that are segregated.  Stop hating and start imagining everyone else as if their insides were on their outside.  Then there are no differences except the heart of the person with their loves.

Those who live in what is known as the “free world” don’t always have an understanding of how others around the world live.  Visiting a third-world country can only give  a brief surface visual of how people live day-to-day.  Things that are taken for granted in many parts of the world are but a dream in these countries.  While many juggle two and tree smart phones there are millions who can’t even afford a land-line that could ultimately save their life.  There are many who sit within the comfort and protection of their locked doors while so many can’t even lock their door to the government who can go in at will and have what they desire.

A young man in Egypt had the notion to use modern technology in a way that no one had ever seen.  He began posting in a social network to gather Egyptians to rally and move in a peaceful demonstration to bring change in their country.  Eighteen days later, Mr. Mubarak resigned after a 30 year reign.   While there were those who took advantage of the movement to loot and wreak havoc, the ones rallying for change remained as peaceful as they could.  There are still many days to come that will be venturing into the unknown for the Egyptian’s, but they are on their way as long as they do not lose focus of why and how this all began.

Since this success there have been other countries following the same route; Libya, Yemen, Iran, and still other Arab countries.  These are not covered by the media as well as the Egyptian rally was covered, but it should by no means be swept under the carpet.  While it seems that many of these rallies are more violent it is difficult to tell by the lack of coverage if the violence is coming from the protesters or the government.

The writing was on the wall as eyes were glued to see the outcome of the Egyptian rallies.  It was only a matter of time before others followed through and began their own demonstrations for decency and dignity.   History is being made in the world as we become spectators within the virtual realm watching and waiting.  The dominoes were set up many years ago and last month a young Egyptian man tipped the first one and brought light onto the darkened stage and now we watch the dominoes fall and land as they will.

No one has the right to berate and cause another person to live in a manner that is less than the same dignity that he would have for himself.

My thoughts weren’t just about the eggs as eggs.  I kept thinking how I said that eggs were all the same no matter the color.  This is like people.  No matter the color of your skin, eyes and hair, every human being is the same.  I recall the old movie Tammy And The Bachelor.  During the course of the movie, the uneducated swamp girl, Tammy makes a startling statement about war.  In essence she said that if people would remember that under all the armor and clothing there is nothing but flesh and blood, perhaps there would be few wars.  Oh, the innocence.

Those who have followed my blog for any length of time have already figured where I am going.  My favorite topic to write about in here – PEACE.  Just like those eggs in my refrigerator, people are the same.  We may look different on the outside, but inside we are flesh, blood and bones.  The shell may be different sizes or colors or perhaps shapes slightly off; but inside there is a yolk and the whites.

When we focus on the differences we have there is strife and war.  It will only be when we focus on what we have in common (i.e.: being human beings for one) that we can truly accept others and bring about peace in the world.  Greet people without noticing what is on the outside.  Nearly three years ago, to escape the illness that has invaded my body, I entered Second Life (I have a blog just about that and have mentioned it before).  I began getting to know people where all I could see of them was their avatar representative.  After a while I was getting to know them not as their Second Life persona, but who they are in the real world.  It hit me one day that had I been walking down the road in the real world and passed most of these people, at the most I would have just given them a glance, but we would never have become friends.  I used to think I was not a prejudice kind of person, that I was very accepting.  I learned how wrong I was.  I can now boast that I have friends from all walks of life, skin colors, religions, races, nationalities, etc.  I got to know them as people keeping in mind that there was a human being on the other side of the computer, not just a bunch of pixels.

To the rest of the world I offer this advice – Put your blinders on and meet some eggs.

Benjamin Franklin once said; “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”  When I first made it known I was heading toward freelance writing as a career, I was told to first learn how to read.  This was not said in the literal meaning of the word ‘learn’.  I was an avid reader as a child and adolescent.  I wanted to read.  When you are shy, reading can be your favorite pass time.  As a freelance writer, or a writer in general for that matter, you read – a lot.  Research means reading.  Luckily, I choose to write about things I love, like history.

I was scanning my Facebook this morning and my writer friend Adele had posted that she was awakened this morning by the delivery of Adam O’Riordan’s collection In the Flesh she had recently order.  Excited about receiving it, she set about reading straight away.  I have known people who read much like a chain-smoker smokes.  They are already picking up their next book in hand before they finish the last sentence of their current book.  I have never been one of those.

Before I go any further I would like to address one issue, writers who read and those who don’t.  I have known some great story tellers, but if you ask them to write the story in order to publish it, it is no where near as exciting as the story they tell.  This is similar to ‘writers’ who do not read.  It amazes me that there are those who desire to be writers but yet they don’t make it a habit to read.  In school they read the minimal amount to pass their classes.  A person would not climb a mountain without proper training and preparation.  So why do people think they can become a best-selling author if they haven’t prepared?  This excludes politicians and celebrities, they hire ghostwriters (Sarah Palin included).  Reading is training for a writer.

All great writers are habitual readers, but not every reader can write.  So which is the better choice, being a reader or a writer?  In my opinion the better choice is to be a reader.  *Waits for the phone to start ringing and the e-mails and IMs to begin following the vacuum-like suction from the gasps*  Reading brings about knowledge.  Knowledge creates informed individuals.  A few months ago there was a frenzy in the United States regarding the passing of President Obama’s Health Care Reform Bill.  Due to my illness acting up at the time, I was unable to write a post regarding that.  It seemed to me that so many people were voicing their opinions (which is supposed to be one of our constitutional rights) and yet they were uninformed of what this bill actually contained.  I actually went as far to say that those who voted on this bill had not even read it.  Yes, I have read the bill.  In fact I was in the process of re-reading it when it was passed to prepare for my blog post when my illness stepped in and halted the process.

In 1966, RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) was founded to motivate children to read.  Here in the area where I live, Dolly Parton began a program called Imagination Library which now reaches around the world.  In conjunction with that, the state of Tennessee has a program called Books From Birth.  Every baby born is given a book and then receives a new book on their birthday every year till age five.  Each of these programs and many, many more around the world are striving to improve and in some cases enact the habit of reading in children.

When I used to take care of children and would be there for their bedtime, reading was a habit.  I would have the children take their baths and prepare for bed and then meet me on the living room couch.  I would have one of their books or my complete works of Hans Christian Anderson and while they relaxed, I would read to them.  Reading to children will open their minds (imaginations) and pave the way to make them habitual readers.  There is one other side-effect to the practice of reading to children, it creates a bond like no other between the child and the reader (parent).

Read to your children.  Read for yourself.  I am not talking about reading the newspaper or what ever you may need to read for work.  Pick up a book or even a magazine and read for pleasure.  Lose yourself in your own imagination opened up within the pages of a well written book.  The rewards are immeasurable.  As for writing, those who write, write on!  Everyone else – READ!

To me, research is as natural as breathing. You don’t learn if you don’t seek and ask questions. Since being thrust into a life of freelance writing I have learned something new about myself and about research. Generally, I look at research as a way to learn about something that interests me. Now I see it as something so much deeper. When I wrote my book, Through God’s Mercy, I just sat and wrote. The research I conducted was first of all finding an empty spot in the ocean to place my island country. The rest of the research was using French/English, Spanish/English and Portuguese/English dictionaries to create some words for usage in this country. My newest book has taken me into the research of the history of Ireland as well as watching Irish movies and seeking out those who live in Ireland to get a better grasp on the verbiage and speech to use.

I still don’t consider this outrageous research. It isn’t even rating near the kind of research I may do to find out about doctors and lawyers I decide to hire. However, I have been doing some research lately that has taken me to a whole new level. I embedded so much of myself in TGM that at times when I read it I have to stop and shake myself off because I am so attached to the dept of it. I am currently working on some research that has given me the same feel. I love history and museums. I determined that as a freelance writer I would write about museums and historical events. Now the fun begins.

I wasn’t interested in writing the usual things that the whole world already knows. I wanted to find the hidden treasures. The little nuances that are not widely known. I knew that The Crockett Tavern Museum would be my first. I used to live just a couple miles from this museum and had visited there before. Then in July just past, I learned a hidden gem about Mr. Crockett and was given permission to use it and create from that. I knew I would be doing research, but I did not know then, how deep this would take me. I have begun to feel an almost intimate bond with an American legend that is bigger then the state he gave his life for. And yet, I know that even as I read his words and examine his prized rifle, I am hardly scratching the surface of who he really was. But this research has shown me that until I get inside the heart, mind and very essence of the one I am researching (much like I got into the minds of the adolescents I used to counsel) my research will be utterly incomplete. If the research is incomplete, the story cannot be told in a satiating manner to fully fill those who read.