HOME - all posts    about Elsa     interviews    speaker   
Elsa's Blog

It matters, what we do.
Each bit of doing matters.
Yet sometimes we need to pause,
to take time out, time off.
And then the pause is over.

I'm writing because it's about time to get started again, to get back into the fray, to do what I can. It matters, what I do, what we each do. Today: the importance of attitude. I'll come to that.

The pause in these sendouts came about unexpectedly. My mother died in June. She was 90, had long not been well. But she was getting better, day after day, recovering from a very serious heart attack half a year earlier. And then suddenly, death.

I did write once, in August, but did not send.

Where to start - with what I almost sent in August, or with my pause?

It felt right, to be taking the time off. The weeks kept slipping by.

It helped that much was going well. Italy elected an anti-mass-immigration party. So did Brazil. A number of countries were standing up to the European Union and to the so-called United Nations. Tommy Robinson fired his legal team (which wanted him to plea bargain - to plead guilty against the evidence), gave a brilliant presentation of the facts at his re-trial (which he repeated outside the court house afterwards so we could all hear it), and had the top judge in London pass the case to the top judge in the UK.

Then came the American midterm results - Trump keeps the Senate, the Dems take control of the House. Worse came soon - the Democrats were doing all they could to overturn the results, including by suddenly coming upon boxes of uncounted votes. One county allegedly has an especially horrible record of voter fraud. Others, from what I'm reading, are not far behind.

Time to get back into things, to do more than pay attention and talk with friends.

More bad news - utterly expected. Sellout May is predictably, a sellout. One headline reads: "The top 40 horrors lurking in the small print of Theresa May's Brexit deal."

And just a couple of days after Tommy's victory, the European Commission on Human Rights effectively criminalized freedom of speech. It found that the right to speak freely (in this case Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff speaking, in 2009, about Mohammed's marriage to a 6-year-old) is less important than protecting the religious feelings of others. The ruling will be appealed. That will take money. A major fund-raising campaign has been started. You can donate here:https://friendsoffreespeech.org/

In a couple of weeks, you will get more about that vital case on our fundamental right to freedom of speech, including an interview with Elisabeth.

I look around. So much dangerous stuff going on. The Right to Migrate Proposal - which would mean no more borders. The thousands of migrants massing at the southern US border - no spontaneous migration - planned and sponsored. The millions of so-called refugees already in Europe. The indoctrination (THINK THIS!) instead of education (THINK!) that's going on throughout the West. The blatant and increasing censorship in the social media. Paypal accounts closed, by now including people whose only activism is membership in the UKIP (British pro-Brexit political party). In the US, the David Horowitz Freedom Center had its MasterCard account closed!

What am I to do?

Over the past few weeks I wrote a couple of fun pieces, including a kids' song, I Want to Play in the Sandbox with You, and the more grownup I Hate Ironing. I'll give the links at the end. I also wrote a piece on grieving, Lonely Highways, Lonely Kitchen. It's not about the death of my mother, but probably draws on that loss.

Now I'm back to ongoing projects, like a kids' video on Right and Wrong, to give kids tools to counter the indoctrination that "all cultures are equal and it's wrong to be judgmental."


A major concern, perhaps especially given all that's going on: outlook, attitude. (From here, also at: http://elsasblog.com/180827-outlook-affects-outcome.html)

Recently I heard, once again: most likely it's too late to save the West without violence. I hear so many variants of this: Too many people are apathetic. Too many people refuse to see what's going on. It's all too little too late. It's too late.

My reply: Outlook affects outcome. Belief affects outcome. Attitude affects outcome.

West victorious

I am all for recognizing reality - or we don't see the infiltration, the indoctrination, the apathy, the wilful blindness. We just plain don't see.

But what outcome do I desire? What outcome would I love to have? Also, what outcome "feels" right?

That's the outcome I tend to see. Maybe it's not the most likely one. It IS a possibility.

Outlook affects outcome.
Belief affects outcome.
Attitude affects outcome.
Reality exists. Acknowledge it.
But the Future Does Not Exist Yet.
See the Possibility: West Victorious.

So with Islam, I want it gone without much violence. And that's what I tend to see.

What difference does that make? Or anyway, what difference can that make?

My experience is that it means I am way more likely to see ways of helping bring that into reality.

An experience from undergraduate days. I wanted to take a specific course in the French department (no equivalent in the English department) and get credit for the course in the English department, to count toward my English major. This was not standard, in fact hadn't been done. I went to the Chair of the English Department. He authorized this.

I wasn't the only student who wanted this. But I was the only one who tried to do it. And - amazing to me - after I succeeded and I told the other 2 or 3 students who would have liked to have what I got, that it should be easy, after all now they could cite me as a precedent - no one else went to the Chair and asked him!

How can we block the indoctrination of kids about Islam, I asked myself. One day I thought of making a simple fun TRUTHFUL video for kids. And I did. You can see it here: http://livefreedom.net/islam-who-what-how.html It's approaching 200,000 views, through various uploadings in 8 languages including Hindi.

kids' video - Islam Who What How

Larger scale stuff: there are lots of findings re optimists. According to studies, they do things like, for instance, recover twice as quickly from heart bypass surgery.

In other words, outlook affects outcome.

If you see no future re dealing with Islam, except with much violence, you are almost certainly "steering the boat" in that direction. Of course, if you do see us succeeding (with or without violence), that is also part of how you are "steering the boat" - meaning you are open to seeing ways we can succeed and acting upon those.

At least a billion people have heard Churchill's famous speech about (quick paraphrase) we will fight on the beaches, we will fight in the streets, we will not give up, and we will win.

Each of us "steers the boat" somewhat, some of us the tiniest degree, some of us more.

I believe it's in Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning that I read that one could see when, in Auschwitz, people had given up and would soon die. He did not give up.

My sense is, on our side, many people are steering the boat onto rocks ("It's too late," etc) when there are, at the very least, passages between the rocks. A passage between the rocks (as I see it): the kids' videos. Another passage: the Declaration of Peaceful Intent. Another: music, like Walking With the Devil (music, so very powerful, something I've found hardest to get through, the most blocked).

Of course sometimes I'm discouraged. One remedy is a good night's sleep. Another is music. Anything upbeat will do. Rock Around the Clock. I Love My Little Calendar Girl. Proud Mary. And sometimes, We've Just Begun. Because, yes, we've just begun!!
http://elsasemporium.com/weve-just-begun-political-music.html
We've Just Begun

I don't, by the way, in any way, shape, or form, believe in "believe and it will happen." Ugh!!! I'm very much for paying close attention (including to our beliefs as well as to what's going on outside us), seeing as well as we can, being open to possibilities, and doing as well as we can.

As you may note, I'm trying to reach you, get you to think about what I'm saying. This may have an effect on you, or not. If I thought it was useless, my sense is I'd be much less ready to try, and keep trying.

My belief is that I can reach many people, that we almost all of us can reach many people, and that this may help "steer the boat."


As always, all the best to all who care and dare,

Elsa

PS. Finally, here are the links to the 2 recent fun pieces, totally non-political.
I Want to Play in the Sandbox with You -
a short fun kids' song:
http://elsasemporium.com/sandbox-fun-friendship-song.html

I Hate Ironing -
a silly poem about hating ironing, and unexpected consequences:
http://elsasemporium.com/i-hate-ironing-fun-poem.html


For lots more, come explore
http://elsasblog.com
and
http://ElsasEmporium.com


posted Nov 17, 2018

It matters, what we do.
Each bit of doing matters.
Yet sometimes we need to pause,
to take time out, time off.
And then the pause is over.

Outlook affects outcome.
Belief affects outcome.
Attitude affects outcome.
Reality exists. Acknowledge it.
But the Future Does Not Exist Yet.
See the Possibility: West Victorious.



 TO GET UPDATES,
 ENTER YOUR NAME
 AND EMAIL ADDRESS:


Name:
Email:




Elsa's Blog







top of page

energy swirl
Terms of Service         Privacy Policy


copyright © Elsa, 2012-2020 - all rights reserved
copyright © ElsasBlog.com, 2012-2020 - all rights reserved

All content of this website is copyrighted.
To republish, you must include the link to the webpage.
For any further information, please contact.