Rambling

OK, so it’s Friday. Today I created a web active wallpaper. It’s cool. Makes accessing the BLog easier. …I still hate the word BLOG. Ick.

Anyway, so Richardson didn’t do so well in the caucus. Disappointing but not surprising considering their wacky way of doing things. Crossed fingers for the next few states.

OMG PLEASE not Obambam or Huckabutt. Obama the Smug and Huckabee the fundamentalist nut.

Tell you what, folks, just write my name in. I could do better than either of them hands down and I really do care for the people.

Prediction? Clinton – Obambam for four years. Ewe.

Next week, new adventure: Home School. Today, goofing off.

Have to fix the kids lunch.

God Bless!

Ted

Home Again!

Almost two weeks in New Mexico and we didn’t want to come home!  But alas, our great adventure has come to an end.  We explored the distant past and the future.  We visited the New Mexico state capitol, ancient ruins, a Space museum, and climbed mountains to play in the snow and enjoy a spectacular view of the city of Santa Fe from high above.  We lived, we played, we learned, we grew as a family.  Now it’s back to routine.  Sort’of.

Our routine is not going to be the same as before.  Next week we begin another new adventure: home school.  The reasons we’ve decided to school our kids at home are legion.  I’ll give a rundown on them some time later.  Mostly it’s about a school that can’t be trusted to provide a quality education, peer pressure and an environment where kids learn all the worst habits from friends whose families have lower standards than we have, a paranoid security system that works against families and distrusts parents, and a good-ol’-boy cronyism that supercedes proper treatment of children.  These words sound unkind.  They’re not meant to be.  They are simply how things are.  We choose not to participate.  It’s been a long time coming.

One thing I didn’t accomplish was a visit to the Richardson headquarters.  The office was tucked away in a nondescript office building and a bit difficult to find.  We tried to find it on Friday after we got there but my wife was anxious to go shopping so we gave up the search.  I found it Christmas Eve but, of course, there was nobody there.  I called on Thursday after Christmas and they said they didn’t have anything there and I could buy stickers and such from the website.  Not much use in going by.  So much for that idea.

Something we did run across was a group called Food Not Bombs.  There was a young woman from Vancouver handing out vegetarian food on the plaza in Taos for the organization.  The temp was around freezing and there was half a foot of snow on the ground but she was braving the weather under the roof of a gazebo to make a statement for peace.  Very admirable.  Check out the new link for them I’ve posted.

Northern New Mexico is a great place.  Not only is the weather better and the scenery totally magnificent but the political and social climate is very liberal.  Santa Fe has long been a haven for artists and free thinkers.  Taos, too, has a large population of peace minded activists.  An ecclectic bohemian like myself fits in very well there.

Our new family motto is “Next Year in New Mexico.”  Some day we hope to live there.  It won’t be any time soon.    Between now and then our lives are dedicated to learning and doing for others while we dream of mountain vistas and wide open skies.

Until next time… God Bless!

New Mexico Adventure – Arrival Santa Fe

We’re here. Arrived noon December 20. Drove up from Lufkin to Amarillo on the 19th. We’re at the Camel Rock Suites. They’re nice. Not big budget nor really fancy but clean and neat with enough room for us. Continental Breakfast was good. Coffee was great.

Soon we’re off to the mall to shop for Christmas gifts and I’m headed over to the Richardson Campaign HQ to say HI and talk them out of some stickers or stuff.

More to come…

One Million Reasons

There are at least one million reasons I have not made a donation to any candidate for President, including the one I really, really do want to win. Since I can’t list them all here (and it would take a bit of time to remember them all) I’ll limit myself to a few main reasons. Here they are:

1. If money is the only way an election can be won these days then why not get all the candidates to donate all their fund raising to a worthy cause, say, feeding the hungry, rather than blow it on advertising. When November gets here just add up who has the biggest pile of greenbacks and appoint them the winner. Get that in writing and I’ll donate.

2. Money can’t by me love. The overwhelming majority might be so shallow as to be won over by fancy advertisements but I am not. A piece of paper worth a penny that has the viewpoint of a candidate is far more valuable to me than a ten thousand dollar TV ad that I’m not likely to see anyway and that says nothing of what the candidate stands for.

3. Giving money is an easy out. People blow their incomes on all kinds of frivolous toys, iPods, game-boys, and drop a few quarters in the red bucket on the way out of the store and think they’ve done their bit for charity. Likewise, people send in a few bucks to a campaign but lack the guts to really get out and do something productive, leaving that to the zealots and saving themselves the “disgrace” of being involved in a political campaign.

4. If what people spend money on indicates their priorities then it probably doesn’t matter who gets elected next year anyway. We’re already sunk. The nation spends its money and continues to go into debt so it can go on killing people while severely neglecting children, the poor, and even the veterans who shoot the guns do without. American citizens waste money on movies, toys, TV’s, and junk while foster care programs, poverty programs and poor folks scramble for a few bucks. The guy in the Whitehouse will not matter if our own priorities are so screwed up.

5. I do not believe the candidate I support can ever out-spend the top candidates. Since colonial days the worst candidates have always had their pockets filled with special interest cash. The “little guy” will not ever be able to come up with more than a fraction of the amount corporations have. They just don’t have it.

6. A willingness to send in a few bucks does not prove support for a candidate. Lots of people and lots of organizations give money to more than one candidate.

7. Trying to manipulate Americans through fancy advertising is a disgraceful way to win votes. It’s playing on the P. T. Barnum school of campaigning: there’s a sucker born every minute and with luck we can sucker enough people with our spending to win an election.

8. If money, rather than the needs of the people, is what a campaign focuses on wouldn’t money, rather than the needs of the people, be the focus once the election is won?

9. Our nation has been corrupted by people with money. The love of money has corrupted the nation. If a candidate wants my vote he’s going to have to prove to me that people, not money, is the priority.

10. Campaigns want money so they can buy advertising. Every dollar of TV advertising and radio advertising and billboard advertising puts a load of cash into the pockets of people I do not want to get paid. The media, news, popular and advertising, are controlled by the same corporations whom I want out of power.

11. I would have no say or control over the money I gave to a campaign. Would my $25 bucks buy a box of bumper stickers or would it pay for a steak for some paid staffer or would it go to line the pockets of the networks?

12. Obviously a candidate in the primaries and the general election must win a majority of states. But I do not live in fifty states, I live on one: Texas. I do not want to send money to Iowa or Florida or Arizona when our state is receiving no attention by our candidate or his campaign. If I am going to give money to pay for an advertisement I want it to run here, not there.

13. Our family budget is tight. We’re not living in poverty but we are, like most Americans, living close to the edge. Our kids are our priority, not the advertising budget of TV stations in Iowa. We could part with $25 and not feel the pinch too bad but before I do I want to know where it’s going and what for and I want to see more going on in our state than a few dozen people standing around with their hands out.

14. Maybe a lot of people do spend $25 bucks on a few cups of coffee they could do without. I could but I don’t. I love espresso but when we go out it’s to the Wendy’s next door to Starbucks and that $25 feeds the whole family. I have regular coffee. At home I drink cheap coffee from the Dollar Store. Again, my priority is not what I want but what my kids need. What my kids need is not to be inundated by TV ads or someone who just throws money at a problem but a person in office who cares about their future and who they are more than how much money they have. The way a campaign is run is a pretty good indication of how an administration will be run.

15. All my life I’ve faced problems that would have easily been solved with a few bucks… money I didn’t have. I solve them another way, by doing everything myself. There are always things that can be done without big bucks in the bank. A campaign that learns how to win an election without wasting millions on TV ads will lead to an administration that knows how to get something done without wrecking the federal budget.

16. The backbone of this country is the millions of folks who have far less than I, who stand behind counters at McDonalds or sweep floors at Wal*Mart or cut up chickens for Pilgrim’s Pride. Without them the nice world so many Americans live in would come to a screeching halt. Five bucks would hurt their budget, much less twenty-five. When they see how much money candidates are spending they are not impressed, they are disgusted. They figure, rightly so, that they do not matter either to a campaign or to those who win. So they just don’t vote and the big bucks are wasted.

17. If a campaign is not willing to reach the poor folks by actually showing them they are important rather than just asking for their money and then wasting it on advertisements making promises they don’t believe then the candidate does not deserve their vote.

18. If a candidate is only interested in my money and not the least interested in my willingness to do what I can do then I’m not interested in that candidate. I am a person, not a pocket book.

19. If there are so few people in a campaign willing to get their feet dirty or wear out a pair of shoes handing out information and talking to people that I can’t find a partner to get out in the streets then I won’t waste my money on a fruitless effort.

20. I have not had much faith in the electoral process for a very long time. Rotten people have taken office time after time. Our state and our national government are corrupt. Corporate interests, not the will nor the needs of the people, dictate policy. All of this has happened not because this or that candidate didn’t raise quite enough money but because not nearly enough people had the guts to actually get take a stand for what is right.

…and now in the interest of time…

Reason 1,000,000: “On Dec. 10, the 2008 presidential campaign hit a significant milestone: the first $1 million dollar day in TV spending. What makes this day so extraordinary is the majority of this spending is not from groups, but from the candidates. The spending is largely aimed at voters in just two states and the ads are, for the most part, positive. Further, this amount takes into account only broadcast TV.” (Source: “Campaigns Spend $1 Million on TV Ads in One Day,” Advertising Age, December 15, 2007, published on the web)

If this doesn’t make you sick then you have too much money. Not one single candidate mentioned as the top spenders is anyone I could ever support. If this doesn’t show that throwing money into campaign TV advertising is throwing it down a rat hole nothing does. The top candidates are, of course, the top spenders. And other headlines show that they’re not getting very far for all their financial effort.

No, I won’t throw away money our family needs. I won’t subsidize TV stations in Iowa or wherever. What I would be delighted to do is join up with a few people ready to walk streets and talk to voters and reach the unreached. Even two or three willing to do that would be great. Want some free advertising? Put together a community rally and call the local media. Want to win an election? Spend $25 for gas, a comfy pair of shoes, and a box of brochures. Turn off that PC, get off your rear and walk out in the street, hand those brochures out and tell people how the candidate will not make the world a better place but how the candidate will make the person you’re talking to live a better life.

Now, who am I to write these audacious words? Who am I to second guess decades of campaign experience? Who am I to question the wisdom of those who have “done it all before?”

I’m nobody. I’m just a VOTER! I’m just an American CITIZEN! I’m just a guy who has watched bullies, jerks, ner’do wells, and greedy men take over every single office that I can vote for from our local Congressman to our Governor to our President, while people who claim to want change sit on their duff and let it happen. I’m just a father of three kids who face incredible difficulties if this country does not make an about face in the next few years. I’m just a guy who has taken a stand for truth and justice before and caught hell for it. I’m just a guy who really does care about this country and even more for the folks—especially the children—who I have been able to do so little for because so few have the courage to make a difference. I’m just a guy perfectly willing to lay my life on the line where it will truly make a difference but I won’t drop a dime on a crusade led by gutless people unwilling to sully themselves or take a risk by walking the Barrio or Ghetto to get out the word themselves. That’s all. Don’t mind me. I don’t matter.

H.J. Ted Gresham

December 15, 2007

Onward and Forward… update…

December.  Christmas.  Time to celebrate the Christ Child and try to overlook the long-bemoaned commercialism and the pathetic usurpation of the holiday by selfish people and greedy corporations.  But forget them.  And never mind that Jesus wasn’t actually born on December 25.  These are not the point.  The point is that Jesus WAS born and that the light of God our Father came to us in a unique and glorious way through the Son.  Whether you believe or not, whether  you accept or not, the arrival of Jesus the Christ was the beginning of a new era of freedom for humanity, an era of freedom which affects you.

I am glad he came.  I am glad he lived, he spoke, and he was willing to give himself for us.  I cannot begin to understand the full purpose of his death, I merely accept what he said, that it was necessary.  I accept his words by faith.  I have no doubt that he returned a few days after he was crucified in body and spirit.  That, too, I accept by faith.

Finally, I accept the reality of the Spirit of God’s presence upon this earth by faith.  The Spirit, which is the manifestation of the Father upon our planet and within my life, provides guidance, assistance and enlightenment in ways we cannot fathom when we truly desire to follow and serve God.  I know this.  I cannot prove it.  You can accept it by faith… or not.

There’s so many things I could cover that I’m just not going to cover any of them in depth.  I don’t have the time.  I’ll only mention them and give a bit of background.  Write me if you need me to fill in the details.

First, I realize how different my personal “theology” is.  I came to certain conclusions that are absolutely contrary to mainstream or even most non-mainstream Christian churches.  I have tried to find where my beliefs fit.  Finally, I have.  I have become, without even realizing it, an American Unitarian.  I do not speak of the modern Unitarian Universalist church but of the traditional movement which flourished in colonial America.  Unitarianism was very popular and many founding fathers and prominent leaders of the time were Unitarians or most sympathetic to Unitarian beliefs.  Unfortunately the movement died out partly because the Unitarian message becamed watered down when so many who rejected the Truth of Jesus were accepted into the association but mostly because the organized church continued to persecute those who were Unitarian to the point that many gave up and entered mainstream churches even though they did not agree with the beliefs.

Unitarian isn’t entirely dead, however, there are a few Unitarian congregations and many who hold the beliefs scattered among assorted, mostly liberal, denominations.  There’s also a small group within the Unitarian Universalist church who follow traditional Unitarian beliefs.

Unable to justify joining Unitarian Universalism because of its too-open viewpoint, its political activism and its purported suppression of Christian beliefs, and unable to join with a denomination that follows a theology so different from my own and one that would be far less accepting of me than I would of it and would teach my children things I do not believe is true I am now left with a dillema.  Do I continue to stand totally alone or seek out others in hopes of forming a fellowship?  Um… I’m going to give the latter a shot.

If you read this and are curious, let me know and I’ll point you to information on American Unitarian beliefs.  Website is in the works.  Who knows, you must might find the answers to all those nagging questions you’ve had all these years!

School.  Public School.  Pain.  Teaches who won’t cooperate.  Classes where nobody learns anything.  Children teaching my children all kinds of bad habbits.  Teachers who pay no attention to what’s going on in their class.  A district and a state system that has tossed the Three “R”’s in favor of the Big “T:” TEST.  And a paranoid system that locks children in and runs background checks on parents before they are allowed into the school.  Horrible. Soon our children and we are going to embark on a Great Adventure: Home School.  Eeek.  More to come.

Politics.  Sad.  The best candidate is getting so little support in Texas.  Rediculous.  Would that God would send my way a half dozen people willing to sacrifice a bit of their lives and selves to the cause of America’s future.  Just let them have the wherewithall to meet and discuss how Richardson might get votes here.  Alas, no takers.  Shame on you!

New Mexico.  My favorite place.  I do not contradict myself by saying New Mexico is a great place to be and that I am a proud Texan.  Remember all the land east of the Rio Grande all the way up into Colorado was part of the original Republic.  Take the land out of Texas, you can’t take Texas out of the land!  In four days we’re off to visit there.  Super!

Finally, God is love.  Figure it out, friend.  Look to Jesus, not as the person mainstream Christianity has made him out to be but who he really was (and is).  Read the Gospels and leave the commentaries on the shelf.  American Unitarianism, of which I am an adherent, is the faith OF Jesus, the one he followed, not a religion ABOUT Jesus, like modern Trinitarian Christianity.

Merry Christmas!  Peace!

Ted Gresham… December 14, 2007

The death of the Middle Class…

The middle class is dying.  So am I.  I’m not talking about the socio-political block called the middle class but the people who fill its ranks.  There may or may not be a decided effort to eradicate the middle class as a social structure or the middle class but as things stand now it may not matter because the members of the middle class are dying.  They–we–are dying in disproportionate numbers simply because of where we are: in the middle.  I tell my children there’s no such thing as “fair.”  There isn’t.  Nevertheless, the genocide being perpetrated on the middle class is at best completely unjust and at worst murder by economics.

Why are so many dying?  They are dying because every other socio-economic group but them have at least some form of health care.   The poor have welfare, the wealthy have insurance, the elderly have Medicare.  Though tattered and inadequate, the “safety net” catches poor folks.  Today’s Medicare coverage does a pretty good job for the elderly.  For the wealthy five or six hundred bucks a month for insurance is a no-brainer.   But for those whose incomes are above the poverty line but below $50 thousand a year, medical coverage is often out of reach.

A few stuck in that strata who are veterans once depended upon the Veteran’s Administration but that is no longer possible.  The VA is almost useless.  So all other members of society get a bit of help for the flu or assorted ailments moderate to severe while those in the middle-class fall through the cracks and into despair.  I know.  I am there.

While writing this I have had to pause and catch my breath.  Pain in my shoulder is excruciating.  Not even the pain medication doled out by the VA in place of a true diagnosis and real help is making any difference this morning.  For the past five months I’ve been in a living hell with no way to get out of it.  The VA will do nothing.  I can’t afford so much as a doctor visit much less the thousands of dollars for tests and hundreds for medications.  Since the un-diagnosed, totally debilitating shoulder pain struck last summer I have been able to do very little so I can’t take any kind of job that might help pay for medical bills.  In October my problems were so severe I went to the Emergency Room only to be told what the problem was not.  For that visit I now owe over $5000 I can’t pay.

It took weeks to get into the  VA.  Then my condition was met with skepticism because they couldn’t see anything obvious to cause my pain.  Their answer: pills.  The pills relieved the pain enough to allow me to function.  Before I got them I couldn’t even brush my teeth or comb my hair.  But the medications do nothing for the condition.  It has not gotten better.  In fact, since I caught a cold which turned into bronchitis almost a month ago all the coughing has made the condition worse.  Not even the outdated meds the VA provides are helping much.

The pain itself is bad enough but the fear is worse.  What is this thing that has taken hold of my shoulder?  What is causing it?  How long must I live with it?  Is it permanent?  It’s the not knowing that makes life so impossible.  I’m only 50.  How many years will I be stuck with this?  Will it get worse?

Because I am a stay-at-home parent and freelance writer I have not been able to afford health coverage.  My wife’s employer has insurance but it would cost $7 thousand a year plus.  We have not been able to afford it.  I have been fortunate not to need health care up to this year.  But now that I have this condition even if we took the insurance I’d have to wait a year because pre-existing conditions are not covered.

So, here I sit.  Between the pain and the lethargy caused by pain medication my brain stays in a fog.  I’m either too exhausted to play with my young children, too lethargic, or in too much pain.  Holidays and family outings are difficult.  Common chores are sometimes impossible.  Depression and despair often take turns sitting on my shoulder.

Bad as this condition is–and it’s very bad–things could be worse.  The trouble could be my heart or some other life-threatening condition.  My VA physicians assistant assures me it isn’t but what if it were?  The answer is simple.  I would just die.  How many men and women my age die every year because they are denied medical assistance that many others get as a matter of course simply because they can’t pay?

Like I said, the middle class is dying.  We’re dying because of an over-priced, self-serving and greedy health care system that places the value of a dollar above the value of a human life.  Life may not be fair.  But once I believed America was a just nation.  There is no justice, however, when government sanctioned greed lets a whole strata of society be murdered.  Rather than bringing health care costs under control the government has sanctioned the runaway system by paying its absurd premiums and supporting the drug companies in their quest for billions.
American’s veterans get far less from the government they served.   Veterans are denied access to the best medical care.  VA facilities are second-rate.  The VA refuses to provide expensive but effective modern medications, opting for older, cheaper, and less effective drugs.  Even then veterans are forced to get their medications through a VA pharmacy which charges $8 per month co-pay for drugs that can be bought locally for half that.  I am charged $8 per month for a blood pressure medication that would cost $3 at the local pharmacy.  And there simply is no help at all for common ailments such as the flu or bronchitis from the VA.

The pain meds have finally begun to kick in.  Morning coughing fits have eased.  Though exhausted already I think there might be a couple of productive things I can do today.  Time to drag myself away from this computer.  The day will be over too soon.  Once again I’ll sleep propped up because my shoulder will not let me lie flat.  I’ll either take a pain pill before I lay down or wake up at three AM in pain and have to sit in a chair until it starts working.  When the sun comes up everything will start over.  Such are the days of my life.  I hate to complain.  Many people face much worse.  The saddest part of all is that it seems rather obvious that nobody cares for any of us.  We who are dying are dying alone without hope.

God Bless America and good night.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

Not long ago I decided that I was through with crusading.  The needs are still great, there are still people hurting, but for so long I’ve butted heads with lazy people and ran aground on complacency and indifference that I decided I no longer wanted to wear the shoes of William Wallace.  nevertheless, there’s this cotton-pickin’ presidential race coming and doggonit if the wrong person is elected America’s long descent into night will be complete.  Sad but true.

America’s two party system eliminates the slightest possibility of an independent going anywhere–barring some kind of real strange set of events.  Besides, there’s nobody I know of that might be even slightly worthy of a vote running as an independent.  I would run but I think I’d need a few more supporters than three kids, my wife and my mom.   There’s just no flippin’ way I’d ever give the Ridiculous Right, aka, Republicans, the time of day.  That leaves only the hand full of Democratic candidates.  In my humble opinion the Democratic candidate will be the next president.  From where I sit in the hinterland of Texas I see very clearly a winning Clinton / Obama ticket.  Say it ain’t so!

There is a guy running against the Clinton / Obama juggernaut, though, that just might be a good choice: Bill Richardson of New Mexico.   After careful consideration and a bit of soul searching I decided to forgo my previous decision to let the world go away.  I wrote the Richardson campaign.  I still do not want to be Wallace.  I’ll lead a division of Richardson troopers, sit quietly doing a thankless job or get out in the neighborhood with buttons, banners, brochures and a sappy smile, but I won’t do it by m’self.

Richardson ain’t going anywhere if he can’t win a big chunk of Texas.  The way it looks, that ain’t gonna happen because there’s only a hand-full of yippi-ki-yi-yay supporters standing up, nobody I’ve found within an hour’s drive of Lufkin, and letters I’ve written to the volunteer coordinator for Texas have been responded to with the speed of a sleepy snail.

I don’t mean to sound unkind or be critical but doggonit there’s such a lack of urgency or compassion these days that I can see why Big Brother has gotten as far as he has.  Letters and plans for action should be firing around Texas like Wild West ricochets but it ain’t happening.  So, what I thought I’d do is toss the words I wrote to the campaign out here on my Blog and see if there are any bites.  Anybody with a wee bit of want to out there should give me a holler.  Let’s see if there’s anything we can do to make Mr. Richardson a household name in Texas.  If nobody bites I’ll watch the sci-fi channel and try not to think about what this place will be like in a couple of hears.

Here’s the bait.  Where’s the fish?

Dear Sirs:

 “If you will forgive my lack of modesty let me say that I have a good deal to offer.  I have a few useful talents and a pretty good grasp of the political process.  Moreover, I have a ‘diverse background,’ a euphemism for saying I’ve been a ‘Jack of all trades’ all my life.  I can identify with many different groups of people.  I’ve driven a big truck, worked behind store counters, worked in radio, done everything that can be done in building maintenance, and sat on both sides of the welfare desk.  I’ve been broke and I’ve been a caseworker and advocate for poor families and foster children.  I’ve written everything from radio copy to business bylaws to a pretty good sci-fi novel.  I even wrote a Bill once for the Texas Legislature and was complimented by a state Congressman though he declined to introduce it.  My background isn’t very impressive on a resume but it certainly has given me many unique insights.  Far too often I’ve seen good ideas and people with good intentions get pushed aside in favor of expedience, pretty faces and false promises.  I’ve also seen worthy efforts go down in flames because they didn’t have experience, backbone or organization.  The Bill Richardson campaign in Texas has an uphill climb.  I have experience, convictions, and considerable organizational skills.  What I don’t have is money nor the slightest talent in fund raising.  Of course, nobody is perfect, are they?”

 

Views:

“America is headed down the wrong road in a big hurry.  I have a very strong desire to see the kinds of changes I believe Bill Richardson can bring to this country.  I’m perfectly willing to do what I can.  But if something is going to be done, now is the time to get started.  There’s a lot of groundwork needed if Richardson is going to make any kind of showing in East Texas.  The press isn’t giving Richardson much coverage and doesn’t make him look viable. No doubt many Texans are still at the ‘Bill who?’ stage.  That question has to be answered first.  I have not researched all the candidates but I nevertheless believe Richardson is the most viable candidate for Texas as well as the best one for the country.  We have to convince a majority of Texans of that.  It won’t be easy.

“As I’ve said before, this part of East Texas is going to be a hard sell for any Democratic candidate.  It’s important not only to make the distinction between Richardson and the other Democratic candidates but also to explain why he’s the best of all.  There are many potential voting blocks in Texas that should be better informed.  There’s not much time to do that.

“I found this quote on a blog site: ‘Mickey Ibarra, a longtime friend and former top White House assistant to President Bill Clinton, describes Richardson this way: ‘Bill is a man who wants to see results.  It’s a quality that has set him apart in this town,’ he explained. ‘He is not a person who wants to talk about an issue for a long, long time and then see nothing happen,’ he added.’ (http://dreamacttexas.blogspot.com/2007/10/bill-richardson-is-chilango.html)  To that all I can say is, ‘me, too.’

 

“A couple of years ago my wife and I built a non-profit in record time from nothing but a dream.  Our goal was to build a foster care agency and group home.  Lots of people wanted to talk.  Nobody wanted to do anything.  I watched our dream fall apart at the first rumble of thunder.  I have no desire to do that again.

“The world is full of pundits and bloggers.  I am neither.  When something needs to be done it needs to be done, not debated.  Richardson’s platform on every issue is one I can support completely.  The only place I differ is that I’m not precisely pro-choice but at the same time I believe that issue is moot and irrelevant, Roe v. Wade isn’t going anywhere, and the discussion should be how to reduce unwanted pregnancies not what to do once they exist.  On everything else, especially the war, health care and immigration, I’m right there.

“This country needs an about face.  It needs someone who will have convictions and who will make that turn-about happen.  There may be quite a few who would fit the bill but I see nobody with the experience, record, or electability that Richardson has.  I have little kids.  I do not sugar-coat their future.  I tell them it’s going to be tough and ugly.  I teach them moral standards, respect, faith, and integrity.  I tell them that sometimes they might be the only people in the world standing up for what is right.  I tell them not to back down, not to compromise their morals, discard their ethics, break the law or abandon their faith.  When the non-profit crumbled to my feet I swore off changing the world.  The problem is, I am unable to ignore the faces who look at me during our morning devotions.  If there’s anything at all I can do to help their world be a better place I am remiss if I don’t do it.  I may be the new kid on the block and stepping a little too far out but I say if we’re going to do this thing, let’s do it.  If we believe Bill Richardson is the best thing for this country then let’s make it happen.

 

“After the recent debate in Las Vegas  I am more convinced than ever that America needs Richardson.  Many of the issues strike very close to home.  As a ‘card carrying member’ of the lower-middle-class, a veteran, and a fifty-year-old without any health care coverage I can feel the pain of many Americans, literally.

 

“I am very aware of how many of problems we face.  One issue, for example, drug abuse, is decimating our communities.  I have learned that a local employer has trouble finding qualified applicants.  Close to half the applicants fail a drug test.  Crime is another major problem.  Those that pass the drug test often fail the criminal background check.  There must be solutions to these issues.  Current state and federal policy does nothing or is often counter-productive.

“My children are adopted.  The lives they had before we took them in as foster children were horrific.  Child abuse and sexual abuse are rampant.  The legal system is overwhelmed.  Child Protective Services in Texas is completely ineffective.  State and federal policy that is supposed to curb abuse are, again, totally useless.

“The above issues are not even on the radar in the current debate but drugs, crime, and family problems are caused by many misguided state and federal policies that support the wealthy at the expense of the middle and lower class.

“Health care is in crisis.  Again, this issue is exceptionally pertinent to me.  I have no medical coverage whatsoever except that I am a veteran.  The VA is so grossly under funded and understaffed that getting an appointment for anything is very difficult.  I rely upon the VA for minimal assistance but even that is extremely inadequate.  I have suffered from some very debilitating ailments in the past few months.  It took weeks just to get scheduled as a walk-in at the local clinic and only after some rather desperate pleading.  When I did get in my Physician’s Assistant (I don’t have an MD there) simply took a guess and prescribed drugs.  The drugs alleviate the pain but do nothing for the condition which I still live with.  I was only able to get into the VA at all because the pain was so severe that my wife and I believed it might be life-threatening.

“When it comes to the ordinary types of medical visits such as seeking help for a severe cold or a simple pulled muscle or the myriad other somewhat minor conditions people run to doctors for the VA will not even schedule an appointment.  If for some reason I miss my semi-annual checkup it’s likely the next visit will be scheduled six months away.

“A month ago I was suffering from acute pain.  Unable to get into the VA for several days I took the advice of the VA’s automated phone response system and went to the emergency room.  I spent about three hours there.  My fears that I was having heart trouble were allayed by the ER doctor after many tests.  That doctor was critical of the care I had received at the VA and said I needed better tests, a stress test, to make sure I do not have any heart trouble.  Two days later when I finally got into the VA as a walk-in I was promised a stress test.  It has not been scheduled yet as far as I know.  In all likelihood judging from past experience if I am scheduled it will be some time next year.

“I had put off going to the ER.  I’ve refused to go several times even as I had precise symptoms of heart trouble.  Fortunately for me, so far, the problem does not appear to be my heart.  Had it been I would probably be dead now.  But I finally went to the ER.  Since then I have received a bill from the hospital and two others from sub-contractors.  I now have an outstanding medical debt of over $5000 which I cannot pay.  The simple and unpleasant truth is that unless changes come to the run-away costs of medical care and medical insurance I and many others will die far sooner than we should.  These are the facts.  As I write this letter my wife and I both are struggling through severe colds and bronchitis, financially unable to seek medical assistance that could determine what we have and how we need to be treated.

“The health care industry is cold-hearted and profiteering.  One of the two local hospitals here refuses to treat anyone in their ER when the condition is deemed non-life-threatening and there’s no means for the patient to pay.  Families in the middle class are the worst squeezed.  The very poor, the disabled, and the wealthy have assistance.  But people in our income bracket have too much income to qualify for social services but cannot come close to affording either the insurance or the costs of health care.  I could get insurance through my wife’s employment–at a cost of $7,000 a year for 80% coverage after co-pay.  Not even my wife is able to get the medical assistance she needs even though she does have insurance because the co-pays and extra percentages wreck our budget.  She won’t see a doctor for her cold because of the co-pay.  I certainly can’t afford to pay the full amount.

“The Lufkin Daily News recently printed a letter I sent in about health care.  Read it at  http://www.lufkindailynews.com/opin/content/news/opinion/stories/2007/11/11/gresham.html .  My letter was written in response to a person who wrote to say parents just don’t put high enough priority on getting their children health care.  He called the SCHIP program, vetoed by Bush, a ‘socialist ploy.’  We are blessed that our kids have Medicaid since they are foster-adopt.  But here, again, Medicaid does not provide adequate coverage.  Of the dozens of pediatricians there are only two or three who will accept the program.  Of those most are, to be frank, quacks.  We have virtually no confidence in any of the true medical doctors who accept the coverage.  We take our kids for minor ailments and their regular checkups to a clinic that has nurse practitioners rather than MD’s or DO’s.  This clinic is owned and operated by a leading pediatrician in town.  His name appears on the prescriptions handed out by the NP’s.  The clinic is a plain, bare-bones kind of place.  No toys or play area and the TV in the small lobby stays on CNN’s health channel, probably another sweet deal for the doctor.  The clinic owner’s office is a very nice place.  There’s sofas rather than hard plastic chairs, carpet rather than tile, and a large play area.  It gets better.  Medicaid rates are low for initial visits but there’s not a cap when additional services are needed.  If a child has a condition the NP’s can’t deal with the kids are often referred to the doctor who can then charge what he wants.  This is the kind of thing poor families deal with, those fortunate enough to have health care at all.

“Health care is not, of course, the only issue.  Obviously the war is bleeding this country in many ways.  It must end.  Immigration and open borders not only contribute to a fractured society but greatly increase drug abuse and crime, especially in border states like Texas.  The travesty of justice that followed 9/11 has wreaked havoc with our legal system.  I was appalled–though not surprised–to hear several of the candidates in the Vegas debate say that national security supersedes human rights.  How easily such a belief could be extended to the rights of Americans.  The current administration has made that stretch already.  It has been pushing the nation towards a police state.  The thought is terrifying.

“My children attend a public school that just this year installed a security system that would make Big Brother proud.  Parents cannot walk their children to classes without first presenting their drivers’ license and having a visitor’s pass printed with the picture on it.  The information on the drivers’ license is captured as the license is scanned and a background check completed on the spot.  All school doors are locked and children are kept inside.  This might sound like a good safety measure except when one takes a look at the practical situation.  The school has a large campus and is accessible from many points.  Along one side of the campus there’s only a fence and woodlands.  In the mornings before school, while children are coming to class, gates and doors are open.  Anyone determined to terrorize the school could get in very easy or do it from across the fence.  Even the passes the school issues could be easily duplicated on a home computer.  So what purpose does the system serve?  It provides a way for the schools–and whomever else has access to the data such as the security company that provides the equipment–to gain access to parent’s and visitor’s personal information, including such things as drivers’ license number, physical descriptions and etc., all information on the license.

“More ominous than the scanning of licenses are the letters that the school has sent home regarding ‘emergency procedures.’  The school informed parents that in the case of a national or local emergency the school will be ‘locked down.’  Parents will not be allowed to pick up their children and children would not be allowed to leave the campus.  The school has actually practiced ‘lock-down’ drills this year.  I do not object to efforts to keep my children safe.  I am extremely opposed to anything that attempts to abrogate my rights and responsibilities as a parent.

“I had pretty much written off the next election as a wasted effort.  Hillary Clinton is George Bush in a skirt.  Who knows what the agenda of Obama is.  Every candidate except Richardson is part of the congress that has allowed the mess we live in come about.  I no more believe the promises from the front runners than I believed in the ‘compassionate conservatism’ of our current president.  I am quite the skeptic, especially in the political arena.  As a student of 20th century American history and politics I am painfully aware of how the process works.  Special interests and corporations have always dominated American politics.  Always.  Many forces behind the scenes, most self-serving and a few down-right malevolent, manipulate the process.  But the process is still intact.  Perhaps there is a bit of hope.  I want to believe there is, anyway.

“In Bill Richardson I see a candidate who just might move America back from the brink.  Like I said, all the other Democratic candidates have been part of the problem rather than the solution, some more so than others.  The Republican party completely abandoned the national interest.  Perhaps much of the Democratic party has too.  But somebody has to do something or we’re all screwed.  I have limited knowledge of Richardson but what I have seen, read, and learned indicates that more than any other candidate he has what it takes to at least pull in the reins and slow the descent.  Maybe he can do more.  We can only hope.  But it’s a simple and obvious fact that if he is not ELECTED he will not be able to do a thing.

“If Bill Richardson is to be elected he has to have Texas.  If he is going to win Texas an incredible amount of work must be done and sooner rather than later.  I’m perfectly willing to get to work.  But not if there’s not others with the same amount of zeal and desire to get the job done.  This election will not be won through the internet.  There’s simply no way anyone will get past the political machines wielded by the front runners and supported by the media using either the internet or television.  It’s going to take leg work, courage, and perseverance.  I was once quite the zealot for causes I supported.  Since I’ve had an epiphany of faith in the past year or so I’ve become very content to live a simple life caring for my family and typing out the occasional article.  I do not easily leap back into the fray even this far.  I’ve been there and done that.  I am reluctant to become an activist again.  The crisis is too deep, however, and far too close to home for me to sit on the sidelines without ever trying or at least offering to help.

 

“One of my favorite movies of all time is South Pacific.  There is a scene where a key character, French planter Emile De Bec’, is being recruited to help set up a coast watch, a risky and dangerous job.  In the course of the conversation he is criticized for turning the request down and for wanting only to live on his island with the woman he loves.  The naval officer presses De Bec’ to help.  He says De Bec is needed because the American forces are ‘against the Japanese.’  De Bec’ quips, ‘I know what you are against, but what are you for?’  Good question.  De Bec’ explains how in France he saw bullies rise up and take control and nobody lifted a finger.  De Bec stood up against one himself and was forced to become a French expatriate.  He despised the rise to power of bullies but was not willing any longer to risk his life or his family when others were likely to leave him hanging.  Neither am I. 

 

“I have many skills and abilities that could prove very useful.  I’m ready to make things happen.  I have no doubt in my mind that Bill Richardson can win Texas.  He won’t, however, unless the campaign in Texas takes on a whole lot more urgency.

“If Richardson is going to win Texas he’s going to have to have people willing to get out into poor communities.  People down on the low end do not have time to follow campaigns.  They do not understand the political process.  They are overwhelmed with life and meeting needs and wrapped up in this materialist society.  All candidates look alike to them: rich guys jockeying back and forth to get their picture on the news.  The few who do vote simply follow the sound-bite.  Reach that ‘great unwashed’ and you have won.  Period.  Leave them be and you may as well get ready for Clinton / Obama in ‘08. 

 

“I can’t contribute large donations, or small ones for that matter.  I won’t go out with a hat in my hand.  But I understand the poor, I’ve been poor, and I know that nobody has ever given them the time of day in a campaign.  Why should they?  They are not traditional voters.  From government programs to campaign efforts, they have no voice and nobody seems to care.  They hear the sound-bites and the obvious lies from podiums and political debates, shake their heads and go on with their lives unaware that they are the true heart and soul of America.  They are dying but not even they realize it.  Let them cook our meals, work in our factories, sweep our floors, and blow their meager income on lottery tickets or big screen TV’s.  They are irrelevant. 

 

“Not!  Passion for real people…  If ever I find a group or campaign that reaches out to these special people I’m there with both feet.  Any campaign only interested in nice donations and fancy people should call the Chamber of Commerce where the healthy, wealthy and wise rule and all others are excluded.  Don’t bother coming down our bumpy dirt drive or knocking on my mobile home door, I don’t qualify.

“If we’re going to do something, let’s get with it.”

Ted

What am I… Part Two

How does one define oneself when one is undefinable?

A couple of months ago I was struggling with the question, “what am I?” This was, of course, in the religious sense. I am not an evangelical, not a Jew nor one of those wanna-be Jewish Christians. I do believe Jesus is the Christ somewhat like Christians believe though I view his person and mission from a different perspective. I also believe in the validity of Buddhism and the utmost importance of the Buddha’s primary teachings. Yet, I am not Buddhist. I believe in God the Creator more by reason than by faith but I am not a Deist. I believe in God because it is rational but also because something within me says there is a God. In other words, I believe through faith. So what am I?

I could make up a term like many whose beliefs differ from the mainstream do. But then I’d have to give a definition of the term which would defeat the purpose. I am a “Theist,” as Wikipedia says: “Theism is the belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities. There is also a narrower sense in which theism refers to the belief that one or more divinities are immanent in the world, yet transcend it, along with the idea that divinity(s) is/are omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.” More specifically I am a monotheist because I believe there is one supreme deity worthy of worship. But calling myself a Monotheist doesn’t say much, does it?

I suppose in the end I must simply call myself a man of faith. I am entirely convinced that there is a Creator God worthy of worship, that Jesus is the Christ, a Son of God and the only Son of God who was willing or capable of offering himself a sacrifice. I believe God the Creator speaks to many people around the world in many ways and is known by and worshiped by many different names. Finally, I do not think I have the market cornered on faith and that many people will live lives pleasing to God without ever knowing, believing or understanding as I do.

Our faith is relevant only to ourselves. The question, then, is how we live our lives according to what we know to be Truth and Right. We may not be able to agree on the name of God or the specifics but I believe we can agree on the morality, the righteousness, and the Truth of serving. Moreover, if we agree on the Law of Love and the Golden Rule, the guiding truths God has placed within us all, we can work for a better, more peaceful world together no matter what you want to call me or I call myself.

Amen.

“What Am I?”

Good morning all.  Please excuse the incursion into your solitude.  I have a question.

First, the explanation: (It’s long. You can skip to the bottom to see the Question if you want.)

Like a growing minority I have become what is commonly called a Christian Buddhist.  Except, I’m not.

As a writer I understand the importance of choosing the correct word.  I use a thesaurus and dictionary repeatedly to find words that express precise meanings.  Ambiguity in writing leads to misconceptions, misinterpretations, wrong notions.  Words are wrapped up in cultural attitudes and change their meaning from one culture to the next, even one neighborhood to the next sometimes.  A boot in America is something on one’s foot but in England it’s the storage compartment of a car, for example.  In the north east Liberal is simply a common political opinion.  In these southern pineywoods it refers to radical baby-killing (abortion) evil minded people.  This is true.  So any word we use to label ourselves must not only be linguistically accurate but not top-loaded with opinions or attitude if it is to convey true meaning.  “Christian Buddhist” is about as top loaded as one can get.

I once read an essay by a young woman titled, “I am no longer a Christian.”  By the title I expected the essay to be a cynical denial of faith in Christ.  It wasn’t.  It was, rather, this person’s effort to distance herself from the concept of “Christianity.”  She did not at all deny her belief in Jesus.  Instead, in the essay she withdrew her identification with what is considered “Christian,” the Judeo-Christian church and in her case American Protestantism.  I feel her pain.  The first third of my book makes the point she does in her essay.  But she, like me, was not trying to be critical of others nearly as much as she was trying to define herself.

If one says, “I am a Christian,” then one defines oneself in a particular way.  The definition is more refined if they have a crucifix or mention a parish or priest: Catholic!  Another mental picture arises if one says Baptist or Pentecostal or Assemblies of God, etc.  Those words conjure up images of judeo-Christian ethics, maybe fundamentalism, maybe conservative attitudes.  To other “Christians” you become friend.  You are at least somewhat understood and somewhat on the right track.

I cannot attest to attitudes around the world but I know Southern Protestantism.  Been there, done that, have a stack of Bible to prove it.  Anyone who walks through town proclaiming themselves a Christian will be accepted as a good guy.  They am “in.”  Someone who walks through town as a Buddhist even without a Saffron Robe and the locals quickly come up with a one-word analysis: cult!  To be perfectly honest even as I am one (in a very novice sort of way) the word still bangs around in my head because of my evangelical roots.  (My wife is still far from nonchalant about the word, too.)  One who puts the words together, “Christian Buddhist,” will cause the fine people of East Texas to go into spasms.

My brother, bless his heart, is a very well meaning, devout, truth-seeking Christian.  He used to be a fundamentalist but has moved away from the dogma since he’s seen the absurdity in much of it.  A while back he was visiting.  I told him I have a hard time knowing where to find fellowship because I am a Christian Buddhist.

He got a funny look on his face and said, “no you’re not!”  He looked like someone who just discovered there really are aliens and UFO’s coming from Zeta Reticuli.  Incredulous is the word but not quite sufficient.

I love the sci-fi flick “iRobot” with Will Smith.  I identify with the robot Sonny.  He asks cop Spooner: “What am I?”  I’ve  used this example before.  I’ll use it again.  I ask repeatedly: “What am I?”

When I finished my book I went looking for places to market it cheaply.  I shot off a note to a classified site focused on East Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.  The website owner saw the title, read the blurb, and called me on the phone.  He was excited about the book. I told my wife that he was jumping to conclusions about what it said. I was right.

The website owner promised to promote the book free and asked me to write a column!  Cool.  When he got everything set up and I started sending in columns he asked to read the book.  I sent him a PDF copy.

Ooops.  All of a sudden my columns did not get posted and he has not returned another email.  He sends out a weekly newsletter.  Before I sent him the book I got heaps of praise.  Afterwards I vanished.  My brand of “Christianity” didn’t fit in his ultra-conservative fundamentalist universe.  It would have been nice if he’d had the courtesy to say he didn’t agree and could not post the columns, etc., but instead I was simply dumped with narry a word.

Of course, I could be making an assumption.  A couple of years back an individual set out to destroy me personally because I had bruised her ego.  A ton of false accusations flew all over the place.  Actually it wasn’t I but the board of our corporation that bruised her ego by turning her away because she was very stubborn and would not cooperate with our program as she went out to represent us.  But I was the founder and leader and all that so it was I who incurred her wrath.  Sad story, not relevant here, except there is a possibility some of that nasty untruth may have arrived in the good ol’ boy’s email.  I rather think, though, that it was my “liberal religion” that did me in.  Anyway…

Calling myself “Christian” is misleading on several levels.  First, it gives a false impression that I am a “Judeo-Christian.”  I am not. What I accept as Truth is far, far from the protestantism I once followed and also far from Catholicism.  I mislead Christians by using the word.  This is unkind and improper.  Many more who are not Christian immediately expect me to come up to them and try to get them “saved.”  They go on the defensive.  So… “what am I?”

On Buddhism, there are so few in Texas outside major cities that are Buddhist that nobody in the hinterland knows anything about those beliefs.  The vast majority who are Buddhist even in the city are of Asian origins and brought their beliefs with them when they immigrated.  Overwhelmingly conservative Christians consider Buddhism either a “pagan religion” or a cult and dismiss Buddhism altogether, treating Buddhists as if they’re demon possessed at worse or irrelevant at best.  Put Christian Buddhist together and you may as well wear a flying saucer on your head and carry a pixie wand. (picture that. ha.)

So, here is the Question I wish to ask:

When a person believes in the truth and validity of the teaching of Jesus the Christ (sans Judeo-Christian doctrine) AND the truth and validity of Siddhartha Gautama, what ARE they?

Adjunct:

If you believe as described just above, what do you call yourself?  How do friends, neighbors, others, react?  Are any of you living in the Southern US?  Would you like to meet up for fellowship?

Reason for post: Having been a wandering pilgrim for so long it’s very fulfilling to have finally found a home.  It is not enough, however, simply to know the truth or to have an understanding of faith.  Jesus taught to share, give, be a fellowship.  Gautama taught refuge in the Triple Jewel: the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha–fellowship.  Of the three, the latter is sadly missing in my life.

Since there are no Sangha’s or fellowships of faith even close to what I believe in this area I plan on starting a lay fellowship myself.  But without a clear definition of my faith or an understanding of what others might be calling themselves it is going to be a very difficult assignment.

Joining a universalist fellowship is an option, of course, but then I’m not really a “universalist” either.  There are religions that are the antithesis of Jesus and Buddha’s teaching, that, for example, do not stress virtue and morality.  A true fellowship is one where there is agreement, not agreement to disagree.  A fellowship that can function as a close knit family must do more than meet, drink hot tea, talk about politics and sit in quiet meditation together.  As a Whatever-I-Am I have a mission.  That mission is to abandon self and to serve others.  So, if possible, I shall seek like-minded individuals to establish a fellowship that can in the spirit of Jesus the Christ and Gautama the Buddha go into the world striving to bring peace, relieve pain, and help end suffering.  It would be good if I could discover terminology that would most accurately reflect the beliefs such a group would agree upon.

Humble thanks for your indulgence.  Your input is greatly appreciated.

Ted

Dubya Dubya Jay Dee (WWJD)

WWJD. What *would* Jesus do? Is this something like “I have the mind of Christ?” I don’t really think Paul did have that mind and I’m quite sure (to sound extremely judgmental) that most who wear that slogan do not truly want to know and certainly do not do anything like what Jesus would do. Not that they could, anyway.

I ask, first, is there any way to know what Jesus would do in a given situation? Next, is what Jesus would do the same as I should do or could I do what he would do? Should the question be, “what would Jesus have me do?” And, can I do that? Good questions!

Is there any way to know what Jesus would do? Yes. And no. In a generic sense, if we study the lifestyle of Jesus and his teachings as found not only in the Gospels but in other sources as well it might be possible to conclude what he might have done given a particular situation. But to do that we would have to factor in not only what he said and how he acted but who he was too. Indeed. He was (and is) a son of God, the only one of that lineage to become a human. So, if he came upon an individual riddled with illness he would most likely have healed them. If he had been confronted by a hateful neighbor he would have responded in love except he would never have had a “neighbor” for he owned no property. So you see, what Jesus would do does not tell us anything. We cannot DO what Jesus would do. And there are situations we will be in that Jesus would not be in. For example, if we get drunk, throw a fit, wind up in jail and then find ourselves in our pitiful state asking “What would Jesus do?” the answer would be that he would not be in such a state. The question is irrelevant.

We could never do anything that Jesus did. Well, actually, he said if we had faith we could do the things he did but I’ve yet to meet a person on this planet, or hear of one, that had obtained that level of faith. We cannot walk on water or heal the sick with a touch. Even if we’re in a situation Jesus might be in, say, confronting that sick person on a sidewalk, our response cannot be the same. We should have compassion, we should offer help, but we cannot be the author of healing nor the giver of hope in the way that Jesus did time and again.

WWJD misses the point. It’s a cute and meaningless phrase. In the first place, Jesus would not wear WWJD jewelry. I can’t prove that statement but I’m pretty sure of it. But more than that, he would not wear his actions on his sleeve. He taught humility, respect, doing good deeds in secret. Claiming to do what Jesus will do is the height of arrogance. Give your gift to be praised of men and you have your reward already. This is pretty much what Jesus said.

Yes, the question is, “what would Jesus have me do?” The answer to that one is simple. Do whatever is the most selfless thing to do. Give and go hungry. Throw your life out and serve others. Abandon the riches of the world for the riches of service to God. These are what he would have us do. We do not need a specific “word from heaven” to direct us. The selfless act, the giving all, the rejecting of the world, these he said do, over and over. All you have to do is apply them. All I have to do is to apply them.

Can we do what Jesus would have us do? Maybe. But only if we clean house and live in the present. Sidhartha Gautama taught Mindfulness–living in the present. Most excellent teaching. To serve others as Jesus would have us serve them we must get rid of baggage, quit looking at the future and live in the present. Mindfulness, the practice of seeing things as they are, helps us do that. This is a long-term process. There’s no room to expound on it here. Once accomplished, however, with a clear understanding and dedication to the message of Jesus we can, indeed, live our lives perfectly aligned with the wishes of Jesus. No doubt about it.