Common Sense

In 1776, American patriot Thomas Paine published his history-making pamphlet, Common Sense, advocating independence for the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain. I have noticed that his reasoning, his argument, against King George III, when read in this day and time, provides an historic basis for reasoning and argument against this present 2026 power grab by which donald trump strives to commandeer the distant nation of iran into a position of subservience to his money-grubbing make america go apesh*t hegemony. If Thomas Paine were alive today, to strengthen our nation's resolve toward decency, peace, equality of citizenship for all (even for world citizens), perhaps he would say this, ( and I'm iparaphrasing): In America this president hath little more to do that to make war and to blow up places in middle eastern countries; which in plain terms,is to demolish peace in the middle east. It's a lucrative business indeed for a man to be allowed to wield the entire military industrial strength of our United States, while being exonerated and amped up by the fox who steals the vines and the news stooges who heroitize the tyrant's power- grabs. back to our roots: this sign sighted, while walking past a yard in Massachusetts the cradle of American democracy Even so, we ought not fight ghost riders in Persian skies. We must stand against the oval occupant who jeopardizes world peace by his destructively bellicose power grab. 

Yeah, I say unto thee: Of more worth is any one peacekeeping man who, according to our Savior's directive, "shall inherit the earth" than all the magamaniacs and fat cats who ever came down the elevator, or up the ladder of wealth and privilege that now takes aim, by trump's bellicose demand, at citizens in faraway lands, blowing to smithereens a girl's school and the home rule of Persian law, as if the donald and magamania had rendered us Americans holier that thou. Let us not forget the words of wisdom written by a wise king of Israel (yes, Israel) Solomon, long, long ago: "Pride goeth before a fall." Glass half-Full

Get out Now!

Words found in an old book: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit. . . for all the nationshave drunk of the wine of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality." I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues". Now I don't know, but I been told, that the self-appointed destroyer of the middle east, the grifter who now occupies our oval office, has taken it upon himself to obliterate the ancient land of Persia. . .

 and he's casting international fear and confusion into every nation in every corner of earthly civilization. . . into the entire international infrastructure of diplomacy. . . This is the same person who partnered with jeffrey whatshisname to have young girls presented to men for the sakes of the men satisfying their own sexual desires, (come out of her, my people). . .the same man who deceived the clueless, unthinking religious folk who don't actually read their gospels, who don't actually take seriously the Sermon on the Mount . . . "Blessed are the Peacemakers." The message of Jesus does not say blessed is the warmonger who, having no constitutional legitimacy to command war destruction, takes it upon himself to blow up the Persian gulf and to initiate disastrous retaliation wherein Israel (supposedly the land that was to be protected by trump's bellicose destruction) is now being obliterated by Iranian fire-power.  Now to reiterate the biblical warning about Babylon, as stated above: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and plagues." Come out of your maralago madness. Stop following ghislene maxwell's enabler who now casts confusion and destruction from Washington to Tel Aviv to Tehran to the straits of Hormuz and beyond. Glass half-Full

Ecclesia

We notice that the sun also rises and the sun sets. The rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow; there they flow again. That which has been is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. To know what wisdom is; that it the question, and what the hell is foolishness? Wisdom seems to bring grief, and the more you know, the more troublesome things get.As for laughter, it's crazy, and as for pleasure, what does it accomplish? I mean. . . this life is just a drag sometimes. I'm up at night, fretting about whatever.When the Byrds were getting higher and higher out in L.A. (you know where that's at, if you catch my drift) they somehow took hold of the ancient book and tuned it into a song: a time to be born and a time to dd die. . . a time to love and a time to hate. . . a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time for war and a time for peace. All along the watchtower of this life we notice: everything God does will remain. There is nothing we can do to really add to it or take away from it (although we sure can make a mess of it). But I have noticed that in this life. . . two are better than one; they have more return for their labor and efforts. "A poor yet wise young person is better than an old and foolishpresident who no longer knows how to receive instruction.I have come to the conclusion that, in this life, it is better not to make promises than to make make promises and not keep them. Dreams are nice, and talk is okay, but a lot of it is just sound and fury signifying nothing. Rather than being a dreamer. . . a better strategy is is just to make yourself familiar with the ways of God; understand what the Crator requires of us, and get in line with that righteous path that is set before us. Money doesn't really satisfy, and having a lot of stuff is, really when you get right down to it, pretty useless. This too is vanity. A worker's sleep is refreshing, and he sleeps well, but the rich person often hastrouble sleeping because of his worldy worries. I mean, when you get right down to the real nitty gritty, we - each one of us - comes into this world naked, having nothing. So go figure. Really though, when you get right down to the real nitty gritty. . . In this life, eat, drink, enjoy life, learn to do work that satisfies your needs and your soul. If you can accept this arrangement, and make the best of it, you will have received satisfaction; thus you will not be stuck in frustration like mick was when he was wailing about can't get no satisfaction. If you are respected by others, be thankful. A wise person can find value in even troublesome developments, while foolish people are just partying or loafing or streaming or lollygaging around and not really contributing anything to anybody else.  Even so. . . the rebuke of a wise person is, in the long run, better for you and me than lollygagging with foolish people. You who are rich, don't bribe people. Just don't do it. fuhgedabowdit! It corruptive, makes the world a worser place. The best way to live is to be patient and kind. Another thing: it's really kind of lame to be saying that the good ole days were better than our present times. Better to just make the best of whatever we've got here and now. Do the best you can; that's about all you can really do. Then move on to the next thing. Don't be excessively righteous. Being goody-two-shoes is annoying. Reality check: there's no man or woman on this earth who does what is right all the time. Nobody's perfect. Get used to it. Enjoy this life with your wife, or husband, as the case may be. This companionship and faithfulness is your true reward. Whatever your hand, or mind, finds to do. . . do it with all you got, to the best of your ability. For the race is not really to swift; nor is the battle to the strong. . . for time and chance overtake them all. 

911The words of any wise person are better than the blathering of fools. Last but not least: Each one of us will end up going to our eternal home.

Remember our Creator before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed. Your dust will return to the earth as it was, and your Spirit will return to God who made it. Make the best of whatever you got.  Just sayin</i>'. Glass half-Full

The Ides of March

Several hundred years before the Roman empire began a metamorphosis toward Christian faith and governance, the empire was ruled by pagan emperors.  The Roman calendar, which is the basis of our modern calendar, named the third month Martius, after the god Mars, also known as the god of war. In 44 BC, the Roman emperor Julius Caesar was murdered on March 15. Sixteen centuries later, William Shakespeare wrote a tragic stage playabout the demise of Caesar. Side note: "Caesar" is the Latin word that later morphed into the German title, "Kaiser", as in Kaiser Wilhelm, the German monarch who started World War I because Franz Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the Austrian throne was assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian fanatic. Even though the lethal tipping point had started down in the Balkan area, Kaiser Wilhelm sent his German armies to attack France. The logic behind that German aggression in the opposite direction is very complicated, convoluted, and ultimately deadly for millions of Europeans. But I digress. I was writing about Caesar's demise on the Ides of March,and Shakespeare's dramatization of the crime, in which a soothsayerintrudes upon Caesar's entourage with a cryptic message: "Beware the Ides of March." Soon thereafter, Caesar was stabbed to death in the Roman Senate by his political opponent, Brutus. Now I don't know, but I been told, that just now, in our present world, we have an emperor wannabe who has, by starting a war, placed himself in the the sites of Iranian fanatics. He may be in grave danger. Furthermore, America may be in worse danger than before this clusterfud started.  Now I'm no fan of donald trump, but we don't want another dealey plaza tragedy barrelling down on America.  In my humble opinion as an American citizen, trump's war, illegally initiated without, as our Constitution requires, a Declaration of War by Congress, ignites a volatile international powder keg that could, like the first world war, degenerate into an internatational ceremony of death. Lastly, the consequences of trump's belligerent high-tech attack on Iran may not be fatal for trump. But it could provoke, because of its impetuous illegality, among the American people, a groundswell of protest, which had already been initiated by his provocation of the violent assault on our Congress, January 6, 2021.

Attack on our Capitol and US the peopleNot only that, but, the religious folk who originally supported his ascent may not be supportive for him when they discover the depths of immoral debauchery that were exchanged between him and that epstein character. Now, just like any other American who is trying to figure out this Iranian war, and all the stuff that preceded it. . . I'm just sayin', Mr. President, Beware the ides of March, and the tides of Iran-war confusion. Glass half-Full

At the River End

One hundred years ago, Robert Johnson poured out his blues into a microphone: " I went down to the crossroads... fell down on my knees. . . asked the Lord above, have mercy; save poor Bob if you please.' " Now I don't know, but I been told that Robert Johnson was the first blues musician to be recognized in history for being connected to the birth of "the blues." Maybe he was; maybe he wasn't, the first. There was a long history of good ole boy black folk pouring their hearts and souls out, down in the Mississippi delta, back in the terrible days of slavery, before Lincoln and the US Army crossed the mason-dixon line and whooped those rebel slave owners into justice and mercy. By 'n by, as American history unrolled like a flag while Taps is sounded out, the angst and the tragedy and the heavy burden of formerly enslaved folk got translated into a musical form that eventually, over a century of time, gave birth to rock 'n 'roll. When, in the 1950's, a Mississippi white boy named Elvis took American pop music by storm, he was singing . . . he was sweating out . . .those ole delta blues that he had been hearing from his soul brother kin down there in the delta, ever since he was born. Meanwhile, down the Big Muddy a ways, in Baton Rouge, I was born in 1951, about the time that Elvis was starting to launch bluesy rock into the mainstreamof American music history. But that's just a paddle wheel in the rush of Big Muddy as it flowed all the way from Minnesota, past St. Louis, Memphis, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and into the Gulf of Mexico.  Now then. . . this Revolution in American music wasn't just about blues; jazz was the twin brother of blues. Now I don't know but I been told that jazz started down in the New Orleans, and it was birthed by black folk, just like the blues, by the soul brothers down there at the bottom of the great river. Being a major port, and on the Gulf, there was a lot going on there; New Orleans is like New York; it's like the Big Apple of the South. . . or maybe the King Crawfish of the deep south. Down on that deep south end of Big Muddy, black musicians had more to work with, like brassy horns. A great trumpet player, Louis Armstrong came out of the New Orleans low end of Big Muddy, flowing fast and free, like jazz and blues.

Louie blew his horn all the way up Big Muddy, to Chicago, and New York and maybe all over the world, for all I know.  Recently, my friend Ben, my pastor, was taken up into heaven with our Lord Jesus. So I have been pondering our life after death, thanks to Jesus, because, even after death, as some ole song says. . . "there's a river of life flowing out of me. . . makes the lame to walk and the blind to see". . . a river that goes even further than the mighty Mississippi. When the Saints Go Marchin In

Sometimes We Lose

June 25–26, 1878, the 7th US Cavalry Regiment, under the command of George A. Custer, were defeated by a unified war party of the Lakota Sioux, northern Cheyenne and Arapaho nativetribes. You can hear my song about it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u71LxQ4YDb0 As the stars began to fall. . . the sun began to rise. . . bringing light to a newer day, and bringing light to their eyes. Hovering like a spectre, the Little Big Horn sat. . . and little did Custer know, that he would never come back. To suddenly realize. . . that thousands of hostile eyes. . . are watching you from the hills above. . . and Indian justice is a MUST, mister Custer. !@$ !@# !@# !@# !@# !@# !@# !@# !@# !@# !@# !@#,. . . Somewhere in the skies. . . a judicial decision was rendered: that victory, bright as the setting sun . . . should rest in the Sitting Bull's Eyes.

victory as bright as the setting sun. . .Smoke

Nehemiah's Request

The occupant of the oval at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington has whipped up a clusterfud of confusion and destruction in Iran. All hell seems to be breaking loose, but this is nothing new. In 1979, when Iranians took control of our embassy in Tehran, I was pondering those events, trying to comprehend the historical precedents that had provoked such rage among the Iranian people. Considering history. . . ancient history, as documented in that ancient book, the Bible, I turned to the chapter that had been written by a Hebrew named Nehemiah. He was serving as an aide to Artaxerxes, the Persian king, in Susa, the capitol city; it was a far cry from his home in Jerusalem. 

Nehemiah had written, back in those ancient times, an account of his request to King Artaxerxes, a document that is now included in the biblical canon. The biblical account of their conversation is found in chapter two of the book of Nehemiah. The king asked his aide, Nehemiah: "Why is your face sad, though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart? What would be your request?" Nehemiah replied: "If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." That was then, a long, long time ago, in a kingdom far away. Nowadays, things are different. Oh, how times have changed! That ancient cooperation between a Jew and a Persian king is a thing of the past. In 1979, our American embassy in Tehran Iran was attacked by Iranian zealots. They held as hostages, our US State Department ambassadors and staff, for 444 days. At that time, I wrote a song about the circumstances surrounding our diplomats and other peacemakers in the Middle East region. The song, December '79, included these lines: "There's a Jew on the one side, Muslim on the other, and Abraham in between. Open the Koran; open the Torah, but look at John 3:16. He (Jesus)came to show us that all men are brothers, however it may seem." I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus, who teaches: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Now in this day and time, we see something different happening there, between Israel and Iran . What it is ain't exactly clear; there's prez with some bombs over here, telling the Iranians to beware. Stop, hey, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down!. . .  But my song, now 46 years old, is still relevant; it is a plea for peace. It includes these words: Sons of Isaac, come together; sons of Ishmael too; come and behold the Lamb of God, who came to see us through; He came to bring us the sword of the Spirit, in the tradition of Abraham. Sword of the flesh, soon obsolete, He brings peace to the family of Man. We've got a song to sing; we've got a bell to ring; we've got a loving king in Jesus! You can listen to the December '79 recording, when, with a little help from me friends, we recorded it in Asheville. Here's the link on http://www.careyrowland.com  http://www.micahrowland.com/carey/WeGottaSong.mp3 King of Soul