The Whole Idea of Vacation

I have laughed at the commercial. The woman sits down on her chaise lounge on which her husband has just hidden his laptop. She damages it and gets upset; he looks sheepish. I find it funny because I can't tell you how many times I have watched people on vacation check their email, their blackberry or talk business on the phone. They take their work with them on vacation then wonder why they don't come back and feel rested.

Now, I have a few observations about all of this. First, I think people need to feel important. Walking around checking emails on their down time can show the rest of the world that they are so important that they need to stay in touch. Also, the idea that there is something waiting for them that only they can deal with strokes their ego. But to them, all I have to say is, up until President Obama, the leader of the free world did not carry a cell phone, and who is more important than him? Second, I think people fear something disastrous will happen if they don't stay in touch. The company will come to a snag in the road that requires their immediate attention. They must remain vigilant for such an occurrence. To them, all I have to say is that if the disaster is that big, it probably won't matter whether you are checking or not. If it is not that big, someone else should be able to put a band aid on the problem until you get back. There is a good probability that someone will call in a dire emergency. I have learned that people stuck in the office during your vacation are able to figure when to call and when to leave you alone. Third, I think people are so wired to work that they do not know how to unplug. They have mired themselves into work for so long that the road back to relaxation is overgrown and falling into disrepair. To them I say, go to a national park for a week where there is no cell service. The first few days will be tough as you go through withdrawal but, I promise you, you will be better for it in the end. Finally, some who have difficulty unplugging use their gadgetry as a buffer from their family. They no longer know how to communicate with the person they once loved so much they promised the rest of their lives to them. The children they helped create are strangers speaking a foreign tongue. Work makes so much more sense. I would recommend the same treatment to you as I did to those who can not unplug. It will be difficult and leaving will cross your mind, frequently, but hang in there. It is worth it.

I mention all of this because we have recently been on vacation. We camped for three nights in a national park without cell service. Even my perennially texting children got used to not being in touch with their friends all the time. We then toured some historic sights in Virginia. Although we were able to spend more time on the gadgetry of the 21st century then, we were enjoying each other's company and listening to the opinions we all had about the sights we had just seen. We came home rested and renewed. Our inboxes were filled but no dire catastrophe had occurred. We had even scheduled a day to relax and sleep before beginning the work week, so today was an almost painless transition back to "regular life." And yet, all the time, I saw people trying to enjoy vacation while still attached to their work. The whole idea of vacation is to rebalance your life again, letting work go and immersing yourself into your family and relaxation with the same vigor used at work. Try it next time, you might just like it.

Polar bears, Penguins and Pelicans

I, along with the rest of the country, have seen the pictures coming from the Gulf of Mexico. I have to admit, the first thirty days upset me but not to distraction. Then I saw a picture of a dead pelican covered with oil. I know that shrimp, oysters and other creatures are affected by the spill, but I can't tell a live oyster from a dead oyster looking at a tv picture. Dead pelicans I understand. Helpless creatures who ask for nothing from us yet struggle to survive in the world we have given them are dying because we need our oil. We don't want it, we need it and the wildlife are paying the price for our greed.

The list is substantial. Polar bears, penguins and seals suffer because of our ways, just to name a few. Pictures of dying polar bears are distressing but aren't often seen. Besides, polar bears live so far away. Penguins live farther and there are still some in zoos. Why should we care? Now the penguins and shrimp are dying. I predict that some people will be upset whenever the topic is mentioned, then get into their big, gas-guzzling cars and drive to the store to buy something that was manufactured and then shipped all with the aid of oil to make themselves feel better, or because they are bored.

There are alternative energies available that do not require killing entire ecosystems. But many in Congress have listened to the dollar bills and the lobbyists for so long that they are deaf to the cries of those who support alternatives. Big oil companies pay millions to make sure we all believe we would cease to exist if we didn't have oil and gas. Granted, life would be different. We wouldn't have as much pollution or smog. We might have to purchase products made locally, giving our money back to the local economy. We would be encouraged to walk or bike to places, reducing obesity. Perhaps I oversimplify but I do know life would be different. I've seen the effects of less dependence in Europe. It looked good.

So the pictures of the dead penguins should be our wake-up call. We should realize that our need, our dependence on oil is ruining not just wildlife but our life. Instead of holding hearings on what happened and who was responsible, Congress should be figuring out how to get us off oil and onto something healthier. But, this crises will be upsetting for a while, at least until it is time to go on vacation. Then people will put aside the frustration of oil dependency and its impact on our environment and drive to the zoo, to see that polar bears, penguins and pelicans.

Israel and Bullying

For a long time, Israel and a group called Hamas, a Palestinian militant movement, have been enemies. The conflict goes back to the 1960's when Israel started moving into the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians controlled those areas and did not appreciate Israel's encroachment. Israel does not see expanding its territory as a bad thing. Hamas' response has been to step up terrorist attacks in Israel and launching rockets from Gaza into Israel. To keep Hamas from arming the Gaza strip, a strip of land between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, Israel has blockaded the sea for three years, not allowing anything in to Gaza's ports. The other border of Gaza is Egypt, which is supporting the blockade.

The other day, a flotilla of six boats with humanitarian aid for Gaza was attacked by Israeli naval commandos. The flotilla was warned in advance to not attempt breaching the blockade and Israel offered to take some of the aid to Gaza. The six ships of the flotilla, consisting of people from 60 countries, were flagged from Turkey, Greece and the U.S. In international waters, the naval commandos boarded the ships in the middle of the night. On one ship the commandos came under attack and returned fire, killing ten people and wounding many others. A first-hand account from another ship said that by the time they woke up, the Israeli commandos were already aboard and the passengers responded to their requests. Israeli says its commandos were armed with paint-ball guns and pistols and were fighting in self-defense.

To clear some things up, a form of Israel existed on the land it currently occupies thousands of years ago. Over time, it was beaten and overrun and, for hundreds of years, other countries, including Palestine, occupied this area. After WWII, The United Nations decided to create an Israeli state and a Palestinian state from this land, with special consideration given to Jerusalem, which many religions consider sacred ground. Most of the world was for this, since the Jews had just been nearly annihilated by Hitler, except for the Palestinians, who would be forced to move. Since the creation of the state of Israel in May of 1948, there has been constant contention over the land. Israel continues to defend itself and its Muslim neighbors continue to keep some kind of control over what they are losing. Israel has also enjoyed the support of the United States and its allies in all of its struggles.

And for a long time, I believed that the support we offered was justified...until I started paying attention. But Israel has denied aid to 1.5 million people in Gaza for three years because it is afraid of Hamas attacking it. It has closed the borders to the West Bank and forced hundreds of Palestinians to lose their jobs because they can't get to them in Israel. It is consistently returning forceful blows to the perpetrators of the slightest provocation. And it complains that everyone in the region is against them. It seems to me that if a person was to behave in a manner that provokes others to violence, they would eventually lose the respect of those around them. Perhaps, they might even be held liable for the actions they have committed. Put very simply, bullies always end up in trouble in the end.

I don't think doing away with the state of Israel is an answer. But I do think we should start sending a stronger message to their government, a message that makes it clear that they will lose international support if they continue to bully their neighbors. Nothing can justify impoverishing millions of people. I think they need to start behaving responsibly and humanely or suffer the same consequences they are doling out. If they think they can withstand the pent-up anger of their neighbors on their own, they will continue along the same path. If they want to peaceably solve their problems with their neighbors, they need to withdraw troops, open borders and come to the table knowing that sometimes you have to give a little to get a little.

Enough with the Criticism

Over the weekend, I enjoyed a barbecue with my family to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday. During supper, my mother mentioned that she was disappointed that President Obama did not go to Arlington cemetery but sent Vice President Joe Biden. I am afraid my response was harsh and undeserved by my mother. I owe her an apology. But I stand by what I said. I am tired of everyone criticizing the president. Give the poor guy a break. Better yet, get behind him and help fix the messes in which we find ourselves.

Every day and at least twice on Sunday, there is someone on the news complaining about Obama. People who live near the Gulf were critical because they didn't feel like he truly was supportive of their plight. When he went to the Gulf to show support and see the devastation for himself, I heard someone complain that they didn't need him going down and mucking up the clean-up effort, they needed more help. He has also been criticized for healthcare, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the financial bailout. He has had to put up with Tea Party supporters judging his decisions. He has had to deal with congressmen who drag their feet on everything except what they want. It seems like no matter what he does, he will be judged harshly and come up lacking every single time.

What we fail to remember is that he inherited the majority of his problems from the previous administration. How short our collective memory is when we have engaging personalities standing on the sidelines creating noise to distract us from the truth. The wars, the financial crises, even the current Gulf Coast problem have roots in the Bush administration. Rather than lay the blame at the feet of the people who deserve it, everyone is more than happy to blame Obama.

I have a few reasons why this is so. First, as my younger daughter so astutely pointed out, many people still suffer from prejudice. To them, an African-American president can not be qualified so they will look for ways of proving and supporting their prejudice. Secondly, a whole group of people are trying to rewrite history, painting themselves in a more advantageous light by smearing others. They are so good at what they do and how much noise they make, that many of us are duped into believing what they say. Finally, we have become a nation that finds blaming others easier than taking personal responsibility for our mistakes. And there is no one easier to blame than the person sitting in the White House.

I, for one, am tired of hearing everyone accuse others. I am tired of hearing a person who has attempted to tackle so many problems being slammed for everything he does. I am frustrated with the people who think they know what to do because actions, not words, solve problems. I am disappointed to learn that I live in a country where people are still judged by the color of their skin. So Mom, I owe you an apology. You didn't deserve hearing me vent. I'm sorry. From now on, I will be more careful to direct my frustration to the people who justly deserve it. Maybe, I'll start a new trend.