Category: History

Unicorns and Trolls

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

karl_iphone5cI have to admit that we are living in very confusing and sometimes frightening times. Having a plane disappear in route from Paris to Cairo doesn’t help to ease my concerns. There is saber rattling all over the world and in the meantime our political parties are warring within their ranks and with each other. It almost seems as though the whole world has decided that everyone must choose a side and then remain firmly in the confines of their respective tribes. For those of us rebellious enough to see ourselves as having “live and let live points of view,” the current rage seems especially counterproductive.

I posit the Middle East as evidence of my thinking. Most of the countries there, with the profound exception of Israel, are united in their Muslim faith but with severe caveats. There are countless sects and tribes dating back to ancient times that are warring from within. Instead of working together to solve problems they fight for the power to subject every other group to their wishes. The trouble in Iraq, for example, has always been about finding a way for the Shia and Suni Muslims to live in peace. Saddam Hussein was only successful because he was a brutal tyrant who favored his own kind and forced the rest of the population to live in constant fear.

Somehow that is how it is lately feeling in these United States. We have developed an “either or” kind of mentality. There are dichotomies from which we are expected to choose and the more we argue, the more radical the fringes become. Each side eyes the other with disdain and loathing. We distrust our lawmakers, our educators and our doctors. We either want to throw the baby out with the bath water or lock him in his room. Everything is about winners and losers with bragging rights for those who bully their way to the top. The idea of compromise and honoring differences appears to be a quaint but flawed way of doing business. It’s dog eat dog and everyone else be damned. We have turned neighbor against neighbor and even within families there are enormous rifts.

I have been thinking about such things while pursuing a seemingly unrelated hobby, genealogy. I have one grandmother whose ancestors I have traced all the way back to people with unpronounceable names who lived in Norway in the 700s. I have not once been able to find a single clue as to my grandfather’s identity even after five years of peering into every possibility. All I know is what he told me about himself and it is a sad tale indeed. His mother died only days after he was born and his father was somewhat of an irresponsible miscreant who had no intention of raising a baby. A woman that he believed to be his grandma cared for him until he was thirteen when she died leaving him orphaned and wondering where to go. He chose a man who was his uncle to be his financial guardian but went to live with his father until he was just barely old enough to take on the world by himself. He led the lonely life of a wanderer, moving from town to town to find construction work. He was already forty years old when he met my grandmother and finally fell in love. She was the one person who faithfully and unconditionally gave him the emotional support that had been denied for most of his life. She was his everything and he spent his final years holding tightly to the memories of the wonderful moments that he had shared with her.

It seems to me that we human beings when stripped down to our barest essentials are mostly alike in our need for the comforting presence of love. Each of us wants to be respected and accepted just as we are, not as someone else thinks we should be. Sadly our present world insists that we instead conform to whatever group manages to get the ball. At any given moment some factions feel bullied by others in an impasse that only tears away at the very fabric of society.

We need to find ways that work for each individual, which is indeed a tall order. We know from past experience that what has always worked best is being flexible and having a willingness to accommodate the diversity of needs that we humans possess. History is replete with examples of how this works. After World War I the victors were determined to severely punish the defeated governments. It seemed only fair given the havoc that they had created but it ultimately led to even more hard feelings that bred angry resentments. The upshot was the rise of nationalism and a character named Adolf Hitler. When World War II ended the victorious nations remembered their mistakes from the previous war and instead set up a plan to help everyone to rebuild. This time Germany had the means to support its people and to become a model democracy. In other words, it was a willingness to be forgiving and understanding that led to more palatable results.

We have to cease punishing one another for simply being human and for having differing views. We have to learn how to use Facebook, Twitter and the ballot box for the common good rather than vile retribution. It bothers me that our members of Congress and the Supreme Court always align according to party platforms. I think it would be quite refreshing to see a more fluid government with decisions based on each individual question rather than an ironclad and unswerving philosophy. If our Founding Fathers had been as averse to compromise as our government is today we would still be subject to the rule of the kings and queens of England.

My grandfather was an avid reader and historian. He had a wisdom born from a full lifetime of experiences. He watched his money and his possessions come and go. When he died at the age of 108 he owned little more than a handful of clothes and his books. His riches lay in the relationships that he had experienced in his lifetime. When all was said and done nothing mattered more to him than the loving moments with his family and friends. He understood that life is often harsh and filled with almost unbearable challenges but as long as we each have someone who accepts us for who we are without any strings attached, we are ultimately going to be fine.

Whether or not someone is religious or atheist, democrat or republican, gay or straight, rich or poor should not matter. We have to get back to respecting and honoring each other so that we might unite behind the goals that matter most. I’d hate to see us divide ourselves at the very moment when the world is so on fire with the kind of strife that tribal thinking produces. I don’t believe in unicorns nor do I think that there are troll behind every corner. Mostly I see good people wherever I go whether north or south, east or west. Let’s start a movement and send a loud message to those that represent us that we want a world that allows us to be united in our freedom, not divided by our fears. In the end all any of us ever really want is the same as what Grandpa desired, someone to make us feel loved.

There Is Room At Our Inn

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

f41a8570f98033234e38d8be706b27c6Close your eyes and try to imagine life as you have always known it turned upside down. Your country is engaged in a civil war. The leader of your nation is a dictatorial tyrant. The members of the opposing factions are revolutionaries. You just want peace and to be left alone but that is impossible. The differing sides fight one another year after year. The beautiful city where you live has been reduced to rubble. You exist in a kind of ghost town because most of your friends and neighbors have already fled the destruction. Your children have no school to attend, no playmates, no security. They roam through piles of rubble and entertain themselves by exploring abandoned homes and buildings. Food and basic necessities are scarce. Your life has turned into a living hell. Your home is no longer a refuge. You reluctantly realize that the only option for you and your family is to leave the place that you love.

Giving up is not an easy decision to make. You are departing from a lifetime of memories and possessions. You carry only a change of clothes and perhaps a few precious mementos from the life you have known. As you exit you look back at your tiny corner of the world, perhaps for the very last time. You have no way of knowing what lies ahead. You have taken a forced leap of faith. Your heart is broken. You tell yourself that property and things are unimportant and that it is in the people that your true joy lies. As long as you are with your loved ones, you believe that you will ultimately be okay. Somehow you know that reality is never as simple as that, but you do what you must do. You embark on a journey into the great unknown. You begin again and hope for the best.

This morning as we enjoy the comfort of our own lives there are refugees from Syria and other troubled nations fleeing from war and persecution. They may look different from us and speak in tongues that we can’t understand but if we were able to talk with them we would learn that they are very much like us. They would rather be enjoying the routines that defined their days before political, religious and tribal fighting upended all that they had ever known. Their children are like our children, wanting to play and laugh. They are innocents caught up in forces over which they have no control. All that they desire is to keep themselves and their children safe but the world can at times be so cruel.

Most of these people now live in deplorable conditions in tent cities swarming with rats and infectious diseases. They await permission to travel to distant places where many of the citizens deplore their very presence. They are viewed with disdain by strangers who fear them. They are seen in the abstract, as nameless masses rather than the individuals that they are. Sometimes their situations become so painful that they take desperate risks to find a semblance of sanity. They never chose to be in this position. It was thrust upon them through no fault of their own and yet they are reviled by so many.

Throughout the history of the world there have been people reduced to becoming nomads because of the heartless decisions of those in power. The Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians and later roamed in the wilderness in search of a home. Humans have been sold as slaves by warring tribes. My own grandparents lived in poverty and hopelessness in the Austro-Hungarian empire. Their entire way of life was threatened with extinction by a government that refused to even allow them to speak their own language. They left for the opportunities and promise in the United States, a place that did not always welcome them. They persisted but their early years were filled with challenges and ignorant prejudice.

My sister-in-law and her family had to flee their homeland of China when she was just a small girl. They left wearing layers of clothing and heavy coats with valuables sewn inside the lining. Their journey was treacherous and filled with uncertainty. Like today’s refugees they were forced to leave a world that they loved for one that they knew little about. They left behind people who had been important to them, whom they might never again see. Their move was traumatic but necessary. Had they stayed they may have been imprisoned or punished by being reduced to a state of poverty. They had no recourse but to leave and to hope that they would find a new home where they might be content.

After the fall of South Vietnam many of those who had sympathized with the losing side also had to escape. They found sponsors and homes all across the United States. I taught some of them. They proved to be fine people, outstanding citizens. They adapted and learned and worked just like my grandparents and my sister-in-law did. They enriched the American landscape.

There are many reasons why the flood of refugees from the Middle East may frighten Americans. We have witnessed terrorist attacks and we worry that jihadis may be hiding in the ranks of the ragtag people seeking asylum. Losing even one life because of a cavalier and unchecked sympathy for the masses seems to be too high a price to pay and yet our common sense tells us that the likelihood of ordinary families aspiring to become murderers is slim. We have to ask ourselves if we can possibly be so cold as to turn our backs on people who are suffering so much. Each of us no doubt has a story of an ancestor who sought out our country to escape from some form of persecution. Even the British branch of my genealogy points to individuals bound to lives of servitude in England who preferred the freedoms of the new world. It is in all of our natures to want to find liberty from tyranny.

I understand that the world is overwhelmed by the problems in the Middle East. I realize that there are truly evil people who hate us and wish us dead. I know that our resources are limited and we can’t possibly solve every problem in the world. Still, I look at children living in hopelessness and squalor and I wonder why we can’t be more open to offering them a way out of their misery. In the end we all want the best for our kids no matter who we are. We take a risk every single day that our goodness will be thrown back in our faces. There is no guarantee that we are not already breeding monsters who will one day do us harm. An ugly aspect of the human experience is that there are horrifically deranged people in every culture, every part of the world. It is neither more nor less likely that we will find such sorts within the people that we choose to help. It is simply a reality of life that those intent on destruction will find a way in spite of our best efforts. We needn’t punish an entire group base on an isolated fear. It has generally been an American tradition to open our hearts and risk being hurt from one for the good of the many.

We may be protected by the oceans on the two sides of our country but we are not isolated from the rest of the world. Their problems ultimately become ours and hiding our heads in the sand has never worked out well. Our finest moments as a nation have been when we opened our arms to welcome the newest immigrants and refugees. Most of us would not even be here if earlier generations has turned our ancestors away. We are a land of many colors, multiple ethnicities, different cultures. All of us blended together are what America is all about. I think that we do indeed have room for more.

Those of us who are Christians are all too familiar with the story of Jesus and His family. He was born in a stable because his parents were traveling to fulfill the demands of the census. The roads and the byways were crowded and there was no room for them at the inn. Let us not be guilty of turning away those who need our help. Let us find room at our inn.

Imagine the Future

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

opte.orgI grew up in an era when technology was still more or less within the realm of science fiction. When my father brought the first television into our home we made it the center of our family universe. It sat in its own room, dominating a wall, with chairs arranged in a semi-circle so that everyone might have a good view of the tiny screen. We watched the black and white images on that little square of light as though we were viewing the work of a magician. It was a far cry from listening to radio programs as we had previously done. The outmoded radio was moved to a dark corner and replaced by the more modern T.V. as the premiere source of entertainment.

Back then the television broadcast hours were limited as were the number of channels. Each evening the playing of our national anthem signaled the down time for programming. A strange looking test pattern lit up the screen until the next morning. We had no way of knowing that the shows that we watched would one day appear to be so amateurish or that the dull shades of grey would eventually be replaced with living color. We simply marveled at the wonder of the experience. A whole world of products were created to enhance our newest past time. There were T.V. trays to hold our food if we wanted to combine dining with viewing. Enterprising companies even created frozen dinners that only had to be popped into the oven to heat up while we consumed more and more of our time in front of the strange little boxes that so entertained us.

Of course my mother was far more circumspect about this marvelous new invention. We still had to eat homemade food at the kitchen table each evening and we were only allowed to watch one program per day. My father, on the other hand, was so fascinated that he often spent hours laughing hysterically at the comedies that were the bread and butter of those early days.

Eventually, of course, televisions became ever bigger and better as did the variety of what we might view. Color and high definition images allowed us to feel as though we were actually present in the places being shown. Today televisions are no longer just the domain of the family room. They might be found in any number of locations in the house. Interestingly, there are still channels that show the oldies from my youth and I have to admit that some of them are actually quite good even without all of the bells and whistles available today.

I am also from the time when writing a research paper for a particular class was a very complex process. It always required copious amounts of time spent in a library culling through a card catalog and leafing through dusty books and magazines. There were no copy machines or printers or computers or Internet or any of those things. Instead we came armed with index cards on which we hand wrote the information that seemed to be pertinent to our topic. It was tedious and time consuming and most often took place over a series of visits to several different libraries. So many sunny Saturdays and Sundays were spent inside windowless rooms searching for information.

Then came the writing process which was generally done on lined paper by hand. Editing involved scratching sentences and phrases out or using arrows to add ideas. It was a miracle if any of it was legible by the time that the typing began. Then the fun really started as we prayed that our fingers would hit the correct keys on the first strike. If we made a mistake it required carefully using whiteout fluid which the pickiest teachers didn’t want to see. I recall once taking more than twenty hours to complete the typing of a paper to the specifications of one of my professors. I don’t want to even discuss the problems associated with creating footnotes. Such memories send me into a state of unmitigated anxiety.

When computers with word processing software came along I felt as though I had died and gone to heaven. The ability to create a rough draft and then hone it until it was perfect was a godsend. When the Internet made research a more home bound project I was even more excited. A really coherent paper still required work in a library but even that was made more pleasurable with printers and copiers. The old index cards became almost obsolete. When I did use them it was to cut and paste printed pieces of information that was cogent. The new world order freed me from what had once been an odious task.

Now I have the capability of creating a blog while riding along the highway. I type away, able to correct my errors immediately. When I feel that my editing is complete I use the personal hotspot on my phone to get the wifi that I need in order to post my work. I can do this anywhere that I have cell phone coverage, which reminds me of yet another amazing device that we now mostly take for granted. Who knew that one day we would be able to carry a powerful tool like our cell phones in the palm of our hands? I still remember picking up the receiver of our home phone and hearing the conversation of a neighbor who was on the same party line as ours. We have come a long, long way.

The world is a truly amazing place and for those of us who have watched its evolution over the past many decades there is still a sense of awe at what we humans have managed to invent. I have seen so many things come to fruition that once seemed impossible. I now find myself believing that we haven’t yet seen the best of what is to come. Who knows what miracles will unfold in the coming years. If we go back and watch reruns of The Jetsons we might get a few ideas.

I wonder if we will all eventually get off of the grid, using energy sources like wind or solar as a matter of fact. Will there be flying cars? Will a pill or an operation cure mental illness? Will our adventures take us to destinations outside of our home planet? How will we live differently? Will we find newer and better ways of educating our young? It’s fun to imagine and to realize that we have probably only skimmed the surface of what is possible. I only hope that as we gain new insights into better living that we will also be conscious of our relationships with one another. We’ve never quite learned how to get along in total peace and harmony and maybe we never will, but it is nice to imagine what a cooperative world might be. If we can create wonderful things then we should also be able to conceive ideas that bring us more peace and security. We’ve been to the moon and back. Surely we can figure out how to bring harmony to our backyards. Every invention and idea began with a dream. Somewhere right now someone is thinking of the next big thing. We need to encourage anyone who mind works its way outside of the box to envision a better world. We can learn from looking back at the past but our focus should always be in moving forward. Our renaissance continues.

A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock and Roll

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

Texas-State-Flag-texas-558311_150_132Texas is one of the most misunderstood places on earth. Hollywood has created a stereotypical image of the state over the years and sadly that impression has stuck. The truth is that Texas is so vast and so diverse that it is like a microcosm of the United States at large. It’s pretty much possible to find anything that exists in other parts of the country right inside the borders of Texas. If our nation was more akin to the European Union, Texas would be one of its most powerful members. It has often been noted that Texas is among the few states that might be able to exist independently, using only its own natural resources. A recurring joke in times of political upheaval is that Texas should consider seceding from the Union.

Several Texas cities rank in the top echelons of the country and amazingly each of them is quite different from the others. Highest on the list is Houston, arguably the most ethnically diverse place in the United States and perhaps even the world. While the metropolitan area has its share of truck driving, gun toting conservatives, the city itself is solidly democratic and boasts representation from virtually every country on earth. As proven time and again during floods and hurricanes, the people of Houston may disagree on political issues but when push comes to shove they always work together. Mostly they live side by side without much ado. Houston has always had a live and let live philosophy that is perhaps best demonstrated in its continual insistence that there be few zoning laws, making it a crazy quilt of businesses and neighborhoods that somehow coexist with little fanfare.

Dallas is a city of a different stripe. Zoning there has created a seemingly better organized conglomerate of communities, businesses and industry. It sometimes appears to be a wealthier, more sophisticated place than Houston. The citizens like to dress up, especially the women. It is the city most closely associated with the outsider’s view of Texas. In many ways it is the original source of so many of the Texas stereotypes that include hard driving businessmen decked out in designer cowboy boots. It is Houston’s biggest rival that often holds in nose in the presence of the oil stained fingernails of the Houston laboring class. Dallas was sadly and unfairly tainted when President Kennedy was assassinated there. It bears a stain for all time that is hardly representative of what it really is. It has been a center of commerce from long before cities like Houston managed to gain their own identity. At one time it lay at the crossroads of America.

San Antonio is one of the fastest growing cities in all of the United States. It’s roots lie in Spanish culture. It is where missionaries first built the beautiful churches and enclaves designed to serve as outposts for settlers and educational centers for the native population. It is a slower moving city, more inclined to run as leisurely as the river that flows through its downtown area. As the home of the Alamo it is the most recognized center of the Texas Revolution even though ultimate victory occurred at San Jacinto just outside of Houston. It is a friendly place built on rock quarries and a desert like climate. People love the town for its many attractions and seemingly never ending celebrations.

Austin is the state’s capitol and home to the University of Texas. It is the most politically liberal place in all of Texas. It has become a mecca for free thinkers and artists. It attracts musicians and actors alike. It’s high tech industries make it a kind of mini-Silicon Valley. Nestled at the edge of the Hill Country it has a loveliness of geography that includes dramatic vistas and beautiful lakes. It is often said that everyone who attends UT ultimately wants to settle down forever in Austin. Sadly, not everyone gets that opportunity.

Texas has sixteen National Parks that range from the craggy canyons of Big Bend to the pristine shores of Padre Island. The Guadelupe and Davis Mountains are filled with archeological wonders that speak of a time when raging waters reshaped the earth. Tucked into far west Texas where the night is mostly lit by the stars is one of the country’s most important and powerful telescopes. The McDonald Observatory continuously gathers data from the heavens and opens its doors to scientists and visitors from all around the world.

Texas has oil, natural gas, vast farms and ranches. Its many industries make it a wealthy state bursting with job opportunities for its citizens. Its highways are dotted with small towns that speak of the influence of the immigrants who once came from Europe and the eastern United States in search of a new and better life. During the late nineteenth century signs in front of abandoned homes in other states often declared, “Gone to Texas.” Among them were my own ancestors and those of my husband, people who had barely eked out a living elsewhere who saw hope in the state whose name means “friend.”

I love Texas. We have produced presidents, authors, musicians, dancers, actors, scientists, educators, athletes and all sorts of famous people here. Texas is a hopeful place where it seems possible for even the most fanciful dreams to come true. It is a state where people leave you alone if that is what you wish or befriend you with gusto if you’d rather. It is filled with the flavors and customs of the world all mashed together into new incarnations like Tex Mex food. It is both a melting pot and a glorious tossed salad of many flavors.

Like any other human creation Texas has its problems but somehow the spirit of the people mostly manages to overcome those things. There is a bit too much rain in Houston and not nearly enough in San Antonio. We still argue over whether or not Stephen F. Austin’s colonists should have revolted against the Mexican government and if Sam Houston was ultimately correct in suggesting that our state should never have joined the Confederates in their civil war. We’ve had our problems with civil rights and yet our cities have boasted African American, Hispanic and gay mayors. We still have a way to go with our public schools but we also proudly point to institutions like Rice University and a system of public universities that consistently rank with the best in the world. We continue to work at bringing more equality to the healthcare of our citizens but at the same time it would be difficult to find better medical centers than the one in Houston that attracts people from all across the globe.

Those who have never been to Texas see us through a one dimensional lens. To them we are a bunch of slow talking, dim witted cowboys who haven’t quite entered the twenty first century. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ours is a state of many riches and wonders. From its very beginning Texas has sheltered people like my grandparents who might have otherwise lived out their days under the flag of tyranny and want. It is a land where people might escape the failures of their past and start again anew. It is a welcoming place where anyone who is willing to invest some sweat equity might succeed. It offers cities and towns that represent the full spectrum of philosophical and political thought. It is a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. It is my home and I love it.

The Butterfly Effect

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

butterfly-effect

The world is such a complex and sometimes confounding place. Here in the United States we are fascinated by the Democratic and Republican primaries and buzzing over the meaning of Beyonce’s newest album. Meanwhile over in Nepal the people who suffered great loss in the earthquakes of just a year ago are still waiting resignedly for some kind of relief. They live in tents and tin shanties without any real hope that they will soon find the comfort for which they long. Even if financial compensation is forthcoming it will amount to only around $2000. We complain that our lifestyles are not improving and they quietly accept that the world is corrupt and unfair. Just as time is relative so is one’s economic and political state. Continue reading “The Butterfly Effect” →