It is on everyone’s mind.
It is on everyone’s lips.
Very few would disagree with its severity.
Very few would hesitate to call it evil.

I remember seeing the headline on my phone.
I was not able to click on the article at that moment.
It was not until I got home that my youngest daughter filled me in.
I remember all too well so many times before.

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Did you ever contemplate the many layers to life?
Did you ever think that we see with our eyes and measure with our rulers is not all there is?
Did you ever wonder about a thing until your puzzler was sore, as the Grinch lamented?
Did you ever take the time to study what seems insignificant and see its wonder?

Did you ever watch a raindrop dance along the window?
Did you ever notice the leaves as they turn their backs on us before a rain storm?
Did you ever ponder the number of times a hummingbird flaps its wings?
Did you ever concentrate on the design that drop of oil makes when it is placed in water?

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I was trying to find a particular skirt.
The store that was located near me did not have it.
I called another store that was a bit farther away.
They had the skirt and put it aside for me until I could get there to pick it up.

I thanked the woman and asked for her name so that I could ask for her when I arrived.
After she told me her name she added one more thing.
Have a blessed day, she said with a smile in her voice.
Thank you. You as well, I said with that same smile.

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The series began on September 17, 1972 and ended on February 28, 1983.
It was adapted to television from the 1970 movie of the same name.
It was one of the highest rated TV shows in television history.
Its finale was watched by a record breaking 125 million viewers.

The show was called MASH.
It was about the “4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in South Korea during the Korean War.
MASH depicted events that occurred during the three-year military conflict.
The series ran for 11 seasons and had 256 episodes.

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I do not usually reprint something I wrote before.
This piece was published almost three years ago.
How I wish that things had changed since its publication.
How I wish that we as a nation had finally woken up.

We are in the middle of an election season.
Campaigns, speeches, and debates fill the airwaves, social media, and newspapers.
Often it is difficult to discern where each candidate stands on any given issue.
It seems like a flavor of the month club when it comes to sincerity and integrity.

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Years ago, when my children were little, we built a house to accommodate our growing family.
There were so many things that needed to be done.
One important thing that somehow fell to the bottom of the list was finding a doctor.
From well visits to annual check-ups, a good rapport with your doctor is crucial.

Often it is word of mouth that brings you to one doctor over another.
There is an interview process as you determine if this person is right for your family.
I am grateful to the ones that have taken care of our family through the years.
They have been a blessing to us.

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A little over a year ago, on May 22, 2014, I wrote “A Modern Parable”.
I never thought that it would be so very real, so very soon.

One day she decided that she didn’t like the placement of her eye.
An eye can be an eye anywhere, she thought.
How convenient if one eye was on the side of my head.
She purposed to find someone who could move the eye for her.

Many others felt that the eye was perfect where it was.
God designed it that way, they said over and over.
The woman who wanted her eye moved found others who wanted their eye moved.
They banded together, with loud voices, and relentlessly tried to change people’s minds.

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The blog post simply called, Conflation, was originally published on March 23, 2013.
It seemed like a good time to publish it again.

Vanity was a problem for the emperor.
All he wanted to do was display his fine clothes.
He hired two tailors who promised to make him the finest garments.
Clothes made out of a fabric that was invisible.
Invisible to anyone who is unfit for his position or hopelessly stupid.

The two tailors were dishonest.
They pretended to make the new clothes, and pretended to dress the emperor in them.
The emperor couldn’t wait to parade in front of the people wearing his new clothes.
This caused a dilemma for the people.

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Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

I thought about that quote the other day.
It reminded me of a grammatical concept.
It was one I studied in school but it was one that took time to master.
Once mastered it was never forgotten.

It was the use of the double negative.
A double negative is the use of two negatives in a single clause.
Informally, it will intensify a negative meaning.
Formally, it is unacceptable.

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We are bombarded with pictures of airbrushed beauty.
Perfect bodies and perfect facial features that never seem to age.
Tanned skin that is paid for and acquired in beds made for bronzing.
Clothes with expensive accessories that would feed a family.

We are bombarded with society’s idea of beauty.
We are buying into a lie.
We starve ourselves and compare ourselves and remake ourselves to fit the mold.
We are losing ourselves in the process.

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