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I've had a  couple of sick days here, but I am now on the upswing. Tomorrow I will continue my pursuits of truth justice and the American way :-)

All Good Thoughts

If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done.
Dale Carnegie
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The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it.
John Ruskin
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Inspirational Reading

“When we became the most powerful nation on earth, the old insecurity that made patriotism into a conditioned reflex of ‘my country right or wrong’ should have given way to a thinking process; as expressed by Carl Schurz: ‘our country . . . when right, to be kept right. When wrong, to be put right.’ It was not until the Indochina was that we began the search for a new kind of patriotism.”

“Americans who consider themselves patriotic in the traditional sense do not usually hesitate to heap criticism in domestic matters over what they believe is oppressive or wasteful or unresponsive government handling of their rights and dignity. They should be just as vigilant in weighing similar government action which harnesses domestic resources for foreign involvements. Citizenship has an obligation to cleanse patriotism of the misdeeds done in its name abroad.”

“The flag, as the Pledge of Allegiance makes clear, takes its meaning from that ‘for which it stands’; it should not and cannot stand for shame, injustice and tyranny. It must not be used as a bandanna or a fig leaf by those unworthy of this country’s leadership.”

“Second, patriotism begins at home. Love of country in fact is inseparable from citizen action to make the country more lovable. This means working to end poverty, discrimination, corruption, greed and other conditions that weaken the promise and potential of America.”

‘Third, if it is unpatriotic to tear down the flag (which is the symbol of the country), why isn’t it more unpatriotic to desecrate the country itself - to pollute, despoil and ravage the air, land and water? Such environmental degradation makes the ‘pursuit of happiness’ ragged indeed,. Why isn’t it unpatriotic to engage in the colossal waste that characterizes so many defense contracts? Why isn’t it unpatriotic to draw our country into a mistaken war and then keep extending the involvement, with untold casualties to soldiers and innocents, while not telling Americans the truth? . . . .”

“Fourth, there is no reason why patriotism has to be so heavily associated, in the minds of the young as well as adults with military exploits, jets and missiles. Citizenship must include the duty to advance our ideals actively into practice for a better community, country and world, if peace is to prevail over war. . . “

“We need only to recall recent history in other countries where patriotism was converted into an epidemic of collective madness and destruction. A patriotism manipulated by the government asks only for a servile nod from its subjects. A new patriotism requires a thinking assent from its citizens. If patriotism is to have any ‘manifest destiny,’ it is in building a world where all mankind is our bond in peace."

Ralph Nader