I Mow, Therefore, I Am

I think best when I mow the yard,

I mow, therefore, I am.

Streaming consciousness while appreciating the whirl of a blade and a combustion engine.

(Below, My random thoughts while mowing are they yours too?)

I’m Irish and German, my DNA results say the same, I’m Northern European through and through with perhaps a slight bit of Neanderthal or Maybe Druid?

My religious upbringing was Christian. I have friends of all faiths and religions.

I have animist friends from Laos, Muslim friends from Sudan and Ethiopia and Eritrea.

I have atheist and born again Atheist friends, I have Gay and Lesbian friends.

I travel with many of my friends three or four months out of the year.

We depend on each while traveling together, it nurtures our friendships. We help each other change flat tires.

We watch their babies (in celebration and music ) take their first steps.

We feast together, some times we famine together, our famine consists of a bad show or festival, we never go too hungry.

We are sensitive to our traveler friends that may have concerns over their next meal or next tank of gas.

Also, I’m exhausted listening to people that tell me of whom I am to be fearful.

I camp under interstate bridges in crips territory and in (delete city) where perhaps the wildest parties in the western United States take place.

Though the night we were getting concerned as we camped in our RV trying to act invisible, they peed, pooped and perhaps procreated next to it, but…we’re grateful, nobody tipped over our camper.

They respected our RV space by perhaps 18 to 24 inch perimeter.

We sometimes face a daunting bit of desperation but not real desperation. It is just middle class desperation, we find a way out.

We sometimes encounter people that are in real desperation, middle of the 90 degree night, desperation needing real assistance.

Dirty, sweaty, with tear blind eyes saying “I need to get to my family” desperation. “ I don’t ask for money, just food or water”.

The boarder patrol are the Hell Hounds on their Trail.

I’m exhausted trying to know who I am supposed to fear. In this journey I have found very few people with evil on their minds.

These people I have encountered over two decades don’t seem to be the least bit evil, they seem poor and grateful.

Their biggest concern is to avoid assholes. (Don’t say that)

Somehow our society has decided to make them the villains. These people are fleeing from unimaginable

horrors.

I know some of their first hand accounts, accounts of horrendous murders and atrocities. I come from a city of immigrants.

All the people in my community that surround me have greater trials and tribulations than myself.

I am a privileged white guy with limited experience to adversity.

I was raised to emulate the Good Samaritan and now I am told to be fearful and punish those less fortunate than myself?

I also have dear and kindred friends that accept with certainty that their understanding of the world is nothing but pure truth.

They have no doubt, nor do they have the ability to reflect on their thoughts and actions, a total lack of self reflection.

I wish my interests, observations and faith could be so simplistic. These close minded people are the people that read just one book.

They know what is right and what is wrong. They have no acuity for grey or gray in their life. They think the world is black or white. Their Rock consists of blinders.

I wake up every morning and ponder how I view the world, I think about how I formulate my opinions and how others formulate theirs.

I come from a Christian background.

Great Grandparents were Catholic and then Protestant.

So that means they were “fallen Catholic”. No Heaven for them.

Being Northern European I probably have Celtic, maybe even Druid blood coursing through my veins. No heaven for Celts or Druids.

Two thousand years ago it is quite likely my ancestors worshiped Odin.

They were possibly hunted down like dogs by Romans bringing Christianity or Mythras into Britain and Londoninium.

Many of my Christian friends want to broad brush my Muslim friends as evil,… no heaven for them.

My Hindu friends see all of us on a great journey and seldom condemn anybody.

Somehow they seem by far the healthiest, both spiritually and physically.

My atheist friends laugh at all the contortions people go through with justifying beliefs.

My anthropologist friends tabulate the thousands of religions we’ve worshipped through the eons.

Most of our recent religions that create such fervor were borne in the post Bronze Age.

We hadn’t yet made iron or steel and the earth was still perfectly flat.

In the 1820’s if you were Christian the earth was precisely 5,774 years old. (Something close to that). Attested to by John Smith widely acclaimed the father of Geology.

Your Bible still tells you to stone adulterers and the Koran tells you to put adulterous women in a gunny sack with 7 to 9 wild cats.

These practices ought to make fervent believers.

As far as I know, few of my devout Christian friends have stoned that many women and my Muslim friends wouldn’t even know where to find “wild cats”.

These are all tests to the adherence of religions and today we have additional tests.

Today our attention is now cast by authorities to decide who is “patriotic” and who isn’t.

Some think it is a test of who can fly the most visible flag.

Who can pledge the allegiance the loudest.

Who can fly the most flags on the back of their motorcycle. (As though this equates to patriotism)

Many in the U.S. try in earnest to display their patriotism, few other countries do this.

My Friends in France thinks the U.S. is somewhat neurotic, they don’t do such things and wonder what compels us to think that this flag waving equates to patriotism.

Its cheap and visual and it requires no compelling thought or sacrifice, ask a war veteran.

Perhaps our waving subliminally signals to the world our deepest insecurities.

Support the troops? of course we support our troops, I have never met anyone that doesn’t support those defending us.
That rhetoric cheapens our intelligence.

Waving the flag doesn’t support the troops, paying taxes supports the troops. If you have avoided taxes you Do Not Support the Troops!

If you are someone that doesn’t pay taxes or dodges them……you are not supporting our nation or the society in which you flourish.

You’re a freeloader and you’re certainly not patriotic.

A few years ago a party mantra suggested that we create a government so small “that it could be drowned in a bathtub” (remember that?)

I suggest that that idea might not help the lesser amongst us.

You want taxes, you want tax revenue. In a nation that wants to regain some standing in civilization you need tax money.

You like street lights? I like street lights, sidewalks , streets, street signs, etc.

Let’s agree that taxes are good and those people that pay taxes are even better.

Debate tax equity and how your taxes should be spent but waste no time on thinking a nation can exist without significant contributions from its citizens and corporations.

Wow, the yard looks a lot better.

www.billkeitel.com