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The Soviets Had Excellent Border Security

Is it socialist policies which make the US more like their enemies of yesteryear, or is it their growing fear of outsiders? The Soviets were really good at keeping people out, but they were also really good at keeping people within their borders.  While it is true the average person from the West did not often seek to cross the border, one still must admit the system worked.  The borders were secure to all but the crafty espionage types.

In days of yore,

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me …”

 

Today, it seems, we only want educated, socially acceptable, foreign born individuals to visit our shores.  I wonder, though if at some level, we fear them as well?

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Do we still justify injustice?

The practice of eugenics is a scar on our nation’s character.  This scarring should be a warning to us of how easy it is for “good intentions” to go too far. During a war, some may feel the good of the whole outweighs the good of a few, but this is seldom justified during civilized peacetime.  Providing for the general welfare of a population may infringe on the monetary rights of the citizens, but should not infringe on the human rights of the citizens.  The practice of eugenics crossed this ethical line.

For the most part, I agree with the philosophy that money does not undo injustice, as North Carolina’s Senate determined this week in regards to monetarily compensating the victims of forced sterilization. When injustice is isolated, a few are victimized and should be compensated.  When the injustice is widespread, we are all the victims and there is no compensation equal to the harm which was done.

As a society we tend to turn away from how injustice has been part of our nation’s “modern” past.  In doing so, it is easier for us to ignore injustices still in practice.  When the ideology of one group, no matter how large the group may be, infringes on the rights of others, we are in danger of ignoring the lessons of the past and we may try to justify the unjust.

It is through remembering the past that we become empowered to work for a better future.

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Saith the Husband… Running

Today my husband ran 6 miles for the first time.  As he has reminded me, it has taken 19 years for me to convince him to attack such a feat.

His comment at the completion of the run was, “After covering 6 miles, I have determined Nike, Suacony, Asics and Brooks are all fine, but Honda is still better.”

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Saith Me… Likability

The most important person you want to please is the person looking back at you in the mirror.

It is certainly better to be disliked and respected, than to be liked but held in contempt.

Just remember to be respected does not mean to be feared; and if everyone seems to dislike you, you might want to take a good hard look at your own nature.

However, if you are virtuous and kind to yourself and the world around you, yet still are not liked my the masses, you must be doing something right.  Keep up the good work, and maybe the masses will learn something from you.