health, happiness, and a gratifying sense of belonging

 Just a quick note as we prepare to finish up 2021. It’s been a rugged year in a long, difficult succession of rugged years. We don’t all agree on everything. Some of us can’t agree on anything. That’s not surprising. We each have our own unique perspective, and they’re very different perspectives. While we’re not always on the same page, nonetheless, we do share pages. In the new year, lets concentrate on the many things we share. I hope your new year brings health, happiness, and a gratifying sense of belonging. I wish each and every one of us a sense of belonging, you, me, and all God’s creatures great and small. When we all belong, there’s nothing we can’t achieve. SC

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION 2022

My resolution as we enter 2022 is to accept that there is evil in the world, but not dwell on it. Don’t make myself ill contemplating and lamenting it continually until it casts a shadow over all else. The light of truth is tortured, but not extinguished. Lies eventually burn themselves out. Over time, truth only burns more brightly. It’s better to raise a lamp than curse the shadows. Yes, there is darkness in the world, and great joy to be had by casting it out with the invincible light of truth.  SC

Put down your fists and lend a hand.

 

America faces many challenges, most daunting of which may well be that of defending our democracy and our union against those who see no value in either. As fellow citizens with vastly varied points of view, we must not be enemies. Our enemies are fear, falsehoods, and ignorance. It’s time to get back to basics. America’s founding documents have served us well during our efforts to achieve a more perfect union. The Preamble to the United States Constitution is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” As we pursue freedom to the full extent freedom is achievable among a diverse people, our Declaration of Independence establishes and clearly sums up our goal. “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” If we strive together to make this one goal our primary priority, all other challenges are little more than opportunities to perfect our union, recognize, preserve, and appreciate our many blessings, and strengthen now and forever one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. There’s much to do. Put down your fists and lend a hand. SC

As Americans, we have a right to practice our own beliefs and behaviors only to the extent that we can do so without infringing on the rights of others to do likewise. When we overstep these boundaries, peaceful coexistence requires that we be reined in. When we act in ways that are contrary to the common good and the best interests of society, civility, and our increasingly fragile environment, we have overstepped our rights.

“If I had a bell, I’d ring it in the morning, I’d ring it in the evening, all over this land. I’d ring out danger. I’d ring out warning. I’d ring out love between my brothers and my sisters, all over this land.” For many of us who remember the 1950s and ‘60s, our memories of those times are reflected in and rekindled by the music of that period. Much of that music had a common theme. People sang of a new day coming. Lyrics told of a future in which all people would be united in a peaceful recognition and acceptance of the fact that we are each different and unique. Popular songs encouraged love and tolerance and conjured up pictures of a time when peaceful coexistence would be the order of the day, and all mankind would join in the common cause of freedom and justice for all; a time when mankind could be relied upon to assist those who needed assistance, celebrate social justice,  and value the best efforts of each and every individual who did their best, even when their very best fell short. We envisioned a time when scientific advancements would provide protection from disease and provide a future where the effects of poverty and polarization could be minimized and all people could find peace and acceptance and realize their dreams.

Over the decades since the ‘50s and ‘60s, many have dedicated themselves to achieving the romanticized goals of our youth; the goals of liberty and justice, as contained in America’s historical documents, and the pursuit of goodness, grace, and mercy in the eyes of God. Despite the polarization which plagues our nation today, much has been achieved. We stand today at a crossroads, on the firm foundation those dedicated efforts produced. We live now in that new day foretold in our youth by dreamers, songwriters, and poets. Some would take us back to a dark, divided past, where ignorance and mistrust were the order of the day, where scientific advancements were demonized, and where intolerance, racism, and bigotry were celebrated. For the rest of us, we see about us the realization of the dreams and ideals of our youth, the remarkable advances made by a nation inspired by dreamers, united by song, and faithfully dedicated to liberty and justice for all. For us, despite the many challenges we face, we celebrate achievements and boldly strive ahead. When will our dreams be realized and the skeptics be silenced? “The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.”  SC

I’m occasionally reined in on account of my enthusiastic patriotism, which of course is synonymous with nationalism, which, if carried too far, is just bigotry of monumental proportions. It is not my intention to promote bigotry. It is not my intention to advance the theory of American exceptionalism. My patriotism is a demonstration of my support for and my pursuit of the ideals of Liberty and Justice as prescribed by America’s Constitution, our Declaration of Independence, and many of our republics other founding documents, not because I believe my country alone embodies these ideals, but because, much like England’s Magna Carta, America’s founding documents promote the ideals to which I believe all great civilizations aspire. My patriotism is a demonstration of my pride and my appreciation for my country and the many blessings I enjoy as a citizen, not as a slight to other nations, but as an encouragement to all those who aspire to high ideals.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are not each other’s enemies. We must not be enemies. Our enemy is not flesh and blood. Fear, want, and ignorance are our enemies. Bigotry, intolerance, and racism are our enemies. They must be overcome not with clenched fists and raised voices, but with the open hand of compassion, and comforting whispers.

We don’t need people who are willing to dedicate themselves to becoming fabulously wealthy by pointing out and enflaming our differences. We’re perfectly capable of enflaming our differences ourselves. We need people who are willing to dedicate themselves to finding fair and equitable solutions to our differences.

Here is a simple and undeniable truth. Unity and consensus are not achieved through hostility and contempt; they’re achieved through compassion and persuasion. Hostility and contempt only result in additional dissension. If our goal is unity and consensus, those who fail to comprehend this simple truth should not be elected to office. SC

Truth, Justice, & The American Way

 

I’m a proud, lifelong supporter of Old Glory and the causes, doctrines, and principles on which our American freedoms are founded. As a student of history, it’s clear to me that liberty and democracy survive only as long as our citizens maintain a strong, central government, dedicated to the task of preserving, providing, promoting, and passionately defending those freedoms at all levels, both State and Federal. When huge corporations and smug financial institutions are prized and protected above justice, propriety, and the public good, greed goes unchecked and evil and injustice prosper. When the balance of power in The Supreme Court allows for the wholesale purchase of our media, our judicial system, and our Country’s National elections, with no regard for truth or justice, the corruptive power of big money and unbridled greed threatens the very fabric of our great Nation.   When your candidate for office insists that your personal freedoms are best protected by deregulating huge corporations, removing protections for working people and the environment, providing incentives and tax breaks to big oil, and removing all environmental safeguards, you may want to consider a different candidate.  If you profess to be a Christian, and your home church prefers singing the praises of the GOP, to preaching Christ's message of repentance and mercy, you may want to consider other options. Ignorance and intolerance are almost inseparable, and despite what some will tell you, neither one is a virtue. In this country, everyone has the right to life, liberty and their personal pursuit of happiness. Freedom is not a privilege to be taken lightly.  Freedom is a right and a responsibility, a perishable torch to be diligently tended and faithfully passed along.  Freedom burns within our hearts, ignited by the founding fathers, and it falls to us to keep that flame alive. America’s most trusted and time-honored institutions are only as righteous as the hearts of our citizens. Our most godly leaders are only as just as the collective conscience of their constituents, and the most telling measure of a nation’s heart is the unity and compassion of its people. 

Shannon Thomas Casebeer

HANGTOWN ALBUM