To honor Doctor Martin Luther King--I still have a dream

A few days ago was the anniversary of the I Have A Dream speech.

I've been doing research about Dr. King. I think that the thing that strikes me so much is his optimism. I have a dream--when things were not changing fast enough for anyone.

I am often despondent about what is happening in my country. This country that elected a good man for president. A good, kind, imperfect man who served our country loyally for eight years is now being followed by the worst president in our nation's history.

And still I don't want to despair.

I went online and I listened to the speech,

And I... I still have a dream.

I have a dream that the people that we elect to our congress and senate will somehow open their hearts and learn that they must represent those who elected them, instead of a party.

I have a dream that the police of this nation will stop being so deathly afraid of people who are black that they reach for deadly force as the last thing, instead of the first thing.

I have a dream today

I have a dream that the people who voted for Trump and the people who voted for Hillary and the people who didn't vote at all will join hands and work so that this country can fulfill its promise.

I have a dream that if (all the Gods forbid) a woman is raped, the only reason someone will ask what she is wearing is to return a lost piece of jewelry.

I have a dream that everyone will be free to hold hands and hug, and kiss, and marry whoever it is that they love without anyone raising an eyebrow or a fist.

I have a dream that it becomes equally dificult for someone to get a gun license as it is to get a license to drive a car.

I have a dream that health care in this great country is seen as a right that needs to be afforded to all and not a privileged afforded to the wealthy few. This includes mental health care and dental care.

And as ever, as Martin said, I have a dream that my daughter will one day live in a nation where she will not be judged by the color of her skin but by the content of her character.

I share his dream. I still believe his dream. I add my own dream to his.

What do you dream?

Why Holocaust Remembrance Day Matters

The first time I remember hearing about the Holocaust I was in grade school. The music teacher, talked about a man who was in charge and didn't like anyone who didn't have blonde hair and blue eyes. Since I had blue eyes it didn't scare me.

I went home and asked my mother about it and she explained more about Hitler and what it would have meant to our family because we were Jewish. This started a fascination with the Holocaust that grew as I met survivors.

Most of the survivors I met have joined their families in the afterlife. The full-throated NEVER AGAIN has diminished to Never Again and soon will diminish further as we lose the survivors to history.

I have been told that those who lived through World War II have been very concerned about the rise of Donald Trump. It brings back many memories for them. A man who panders to the worst of people and allows--no--encourages violence at his rallies helps the World War II comparisons.

So what can we do?

Do you know someone who isn't registered to vote--help them to register today.

See how you can help the congressional and Senate races.  If you can't get behind Hillary Clinton, find someone who you can behind.

Don't forget.

Don't forget that Hitler came to power because good people did nothing.

Don't forget that Hitler came to power because people did not take his Jew-hating talk seriously.

Don't forget that Hitler caused a lot of problems before he was stopped.

Don't forget!

Microblog Mondays -- there were real heroes.

There's some controversy brewing. Okay brewed. Okay it has happened and is pretty damn near ripe.

It is about a book.

This one.

I won't link to the amazon site. I won't buy it. I won't read it.

I agree with those that say that any "romance" between a woman victim of the concentration camps and the commandant commander is rape. The balance of power is too one-sided to be consensual.

I am so angry I cannot speak about the woman's conversion as a plot point.

Don't get me started on the fact that she is using the Holocaust as a marketing tool.

I have read several amazing blog posts.  My favorite being by kkhendin.

I have one thing to add.

There were heroes who wore the swastika. Men like Oskar Shindler, Karl Plagge, Albert Battel, and Albert Goring. The last was the brother of one of the most horrible of the nazis, but he used his name and influence to help.

They were not romantic heroes who defied the ruddy little ignoramus* due to a magic bible. They were heroes already who saw wrong and tried to correct it.

For those who want to read about the good and decent people that helped others during the darkest time, I suggest you go to the Yad Vashem website and learn about those who were declared righteous among nations. These were the people who stood up to the third reich.  They were the candles in the myriad of darkness.  Not this book.



* J.R.R. Tolkien often referred to Hitler as the ruddy little ignoramus.  While I am not the Tolkien fan that my husband is, it is often how we refer to him in discussions.

Grandma and Margaret Sanger

After my grandmother passed away we were going through her pictures.  One really stuck out to me.

It was my grandmother and several other women in a living room. I noticed that one of the women looked familiar and I went to my mom. Mom said, "I believe that is Margaret Sanger."  An open encyclopedia later confirmed it. Grandma knew the pioneer of birth control.

I wonder if my grandmother was an activist--and I know she probably was.

I wonder how much of planned parenthood was discussed in that parlor.

I wonder and then I feel an immense bit of pride in my grandmother.