Socks, Oil & Religious freedom
Thursday, August 19th, 2010Dragon Socks
xWe recently returned from our annual vending trip in the Colorado mountains. This year we set up our booth in a beautiful valley. It rained about an hour a day (it always rains in August) but the rains kept the temperatures pleasantly cool.
This was the first time we offered socks including dragon, cat, bat & skull patterns. The response was great. Look for more decorative socks at our other shows and on the web in time.
Now time for my digressions.
Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico a lot of oil is still lurking. The good news about the still capped well continues, but the oil already leaked and not yet picked up will continue to slowly poison this environment. I just hope that the American people will not too quickly forget. A complete cleanup may take years and a lot of money. Do we have the will to stick to a long-term clean up program?
Religious freedom.
The controversy about allowing a mosque and Islamic center to be built two blocks away from the 9-11 site shows just how prejudiced and ignorant many people are. We brag about religious freedom, but when it comes to practicing it with an unpopular minority, too many politicians eagerly cave in to those who do not understand the issue. Either we practice religious freedom for all, or we change the US constitution.
The victims of 9-11 deserve our compassion and sympathy. However, we do not ease their pain by allowing them to torpedo our basic right to religious freedom. Too many people do not like any religion, except their own. Some don’t want Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus or Pagans building churches or temples in their neighborhood. The issue is always the same. Either we allow religious freedom for all religions or we give up pretending to be better than other nations and cultures. Too many people have already died in religious wars. Wars fought for empire and wealth make more sense. Avoiding wars, whenever possible, make the most sense.