My Corner, Your Corner: ‘Dreaming about the world as one’

To say the United States is kind of topsy-turvy would be a bit of an understatement. The political climate is something we, as a nation, has never seen before.

I, for one, cannot wait until the day comes when civility reigns supreme and being polite to each other is the norm again.

I’m not sure how you feel, but I hope I do not hear adjectives like liar, crooked, senile, the worst, awful, terrible, stupid or whatever to describe a political opponent.

Needless to say, the next few months will be interesting to see how our history unfolds.

We always want peace in the world, but if we cannot find peace among ourselves as a nation, how can we help nurture peace across the globe?

The call for peace, whether here or abroad, has been universal ever since I could remember.

Back in the 60s, people lost their lives demonstrating for peace in the world including four students were cut down at the hands of the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University when the university demonstrated against the Vietnam War.

The song “Ohio” written in 1970 by, oddly enough a Canadian, Neil Young and performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was a demonstration song depicting the scene at Kent State. The song became an anthem against the Vietnam War.

There were a lot of demonstration songs over the years and many more song written demanding peace.

Listen up kids, gather around your iPhone and tune in to Spotify or iTunes or turn on YouTube to find an artist by the name of Cat Stevens.

Stevens, born Steven Demetre Georgiou in 1948 in London, England, goes by a few names including Yusuf, but his most famous name, Cat Stevens.

Growing up, Stevens put out a few albums but in a nine-year period between 1970 and 1978, he put out nine albums. It was an incredible body of work in such a short period of time and, like all songwriters, he had messages to spread — one of them peace.

In fact, he put out two albums in 1970 and one of the most influential songs in his catalog is “PeaceTrain.”

Many protesters wanting to spread the message of peace throughout the world used the song. Even though the song did not target politics, the song resonated the hope of peace throughout the song.

With lyrics like:

Now I’ve been crying lately,

Thinkin’ about the world as it is,

Why must we go on hating?

Why can’t we live in bliss?

That’s the big question, why can’t we live in bliss? The hating has to go.

I think we all want to ride the Peace Train and I think we need to do it soon, very soon.

It’s so tough to turn on the TV to watch the news to see all the political unrest. The negative ads are everywhere. The degrading seems to be the norm so much so, I find it unsettling when I speak to my own friends who were never taught to speak with such distain.

Oh peace train take this country,

Come take me home again

Everyone jump on the peace train.

The peace train can’t come fast enough for me. When will be able to have a political conversation with another without feeling like their political party is better than mine?

When will respect for each other dictate again?

I wish I could be frozen in time and thawed out in 25 years, I’d be curious to see if human beings evolved past this barbaric phase we are in.

Will we be able to decipher when the truth is the truth and a lie is a lie? Will opposition ever trust and believe in each other?

I guess realistically, I’d just like to get past the November Presidential election and hope for the best for January of 2025.

This nation is hurting and we all need to step back, reassess and move forward cautiously hoping we learned a lesson or two over the past several years.

My parents are both gone, and I miss them terribly, but quite frankly, I wouldn’t want them to be present in today’s society, they would be scared, embarrassed, ashamed and in disbelief.

The values my parents and many others taught their children values, values that have disappeared and it’s time to get them back and soon.

’Cause out of the edge of darkness,

There rides a peace train.

Oh peace train take this country,

Come take me home again.

Quote of the Week

“Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible. We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be achieved unless we first establish peace within our own minds. We can send so-called ‘peacekeeping forces’ into areas of conflict, but peace cannot be opposed from the outside with guns. Only by creating peace within our own mind and helping others to do the same can we hope to achieve peace in this world.” ― Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Thought of the Week

“Peace is not something you wish for, it is something you make, something you are, something you do and something you give away.” ― Robert Fulghum

Bumper Sticker

“Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson