General Discussion

I know the feeling very well.

I have three friends from other countries -- two from Europe, one from the Middle East -- that I came to know through my children's college experience. (One of their fathers was an ambassador who was in the room back when the fellow threw his shoes at George W. Bush!) They all say that their people were puzzled as to how Trump was ever mistaken for a "leader," and are horrified by what America has become.

This spring, my younger son an I have been walking some of our favorite fields, collecting artifacts from the past. He is a crisis counselor at a small city school in our area. He has the ability to identify, on many levels, the problems associated with his job, and the current social-political environment. We always have meaningful conversations as we walk, though this spring, I can tell he is very concerned about the future.

Thus, every time we've been out this year, he questions me about the three primary reformation prophets of the Iroquois, in great detail. Sapling was circa 2,000, Peace Maker 425 ad, and Hianwatha 850 ad. (Handsome Lake was 1798, though those I am associated with respect his vision, but remain Long House.)

Societies that reach a state of empire always decay from within, in cycles that are as certain as the seasons. However, that decay can be used for the compost that promotes new growth of principles -- for great principles remain constant. The agents of decay in our society have no principles, of corse, thus promoting the unhealthy tensions in our present day. An obvious example is that Trump feels no eed to tell the Truth. For lying is his language, and deceit his tongue.

I love the promise of my garden. New sprouts are popping up through the living Earth. All of organic life on Earth is here for the Earth's purposes. All of organic life either grows, or decays. I struggle at times to keep that in mind. But I do see some strong, healthy new life coming up in the younger generations. Like yourself, I do not know how long I'll be here to witness their growth. But if they stick to those principles, I think they will overcome the current rot.