Opps!  Sorry about the typo errors: ‘me’ not‘my’.

I was thinking exactly that.

Thanks, Frank for saying in one sentence what would have taken my a paragraph to explain.

"Those people are still living in the 10th century or earlier.  It’s a tribal situation much worse than Iraq. … Afghanistan is not called the graveyard of empires for nothing." - F P 

 Anyone understanding the complex history of Afghanistan will realize that peace can not be achieved in 5 years or 10.  Other posters have pointed out rational reasons for America’s presence in Afghanistan, yet at what cost of lives to try to insure peace in a region of the world that has never known stability.  I would wager that most veterans of Iraq would ask the question we all [must] ask, "Why are we there?"  And, according to some reports of military men and women who have already served a tour of duty in Afghanistan [witnesses of fallen comrades], many have become weary, questioning whether military intervention is the appropriate.

"Let’s see …"  followed by a long pause before making a comment, a decision, or answering a question.

I usually assume the person is either indecisive, or is contemplating dishonesty.

Cathy,

 

"But he is just the tip of the iceberg of the people I think should be tried for everything from treason to thief in this economy crisis we have been thrown into."

 

Great perspective.  I hope you watch Michael Moore’s new documentary, CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY.

I never record television programming.  And now, I watch PBS exclusively. 

My television is not digital, therefore I use a converter box, which pulls in three PBS stations.  PBS is my source for  evening news - NEWS HOUR WITH JIM LEHRER, prime time entertainment such as MASTERPIECE THEATRE, NOVA, FRONTLINE, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, late night BBC NEWS, and late night talk, CHARLIE ROSE. Occasionally, I’ll watch LETTERMAN on network television instead of TAVIS SMILEY [whomever has the best guests], but I usually I switch to CHARLIE ROSE, which airs at 11 pm CST.

I gave up cable about a year ago because it was a waste of money.

I was rebellious, militant, and stupid when I came of voting age.  I deluded myself into believing that not voting was making an anti-American anti-establishment statement about the inequity towards the poor, minorities, and the underprivileged in America.  

Then I grew up … and have voted ever since. 

I watched the 60 MINUTES tribute to Don Hewitt yesterday.  And in an interview he said [something to the effect] that he didn’t recognize the world we now live in and that it felt somewhat unfamiliar to him.  I don’t recall his exact words, yet I think I understood what he meant.

Although I’ve come a long way since I was a young wife and mother in the 70’s, and my anti-feminist [Eagle Forum]  ideologies have diminished significantly, I confess that at my core I feel more comfortable with clearly defined social roles for men and women.  Perhaps I was socially brainwashed with deeply ingrained cultural belief systems such that I continue to believe in the model of the traditional family - husband, wife, children; and gender defined professions; policeman, fireman, lineman, nurse.  Yet intellectually, I know that the era of twentieth century social ideology shaped by gender was wrong, and is long gone and will never return. 

Still, many times I ask myself why do I continued to wrestle with the tension between the old vs new social/cultural order?  I ask myself why do certain belief systems of the past era that I grew up in continue to resonate within me when I now perceive myself as being more enlightened and tolerant of this new age ideology respective to roles of men and women in our society?  Why does this world feel somewhat alien to me in the manner I think Don Hewett expressed?

I’m not sure.  Yet, I suspect that my reason for not feeling quite comfortable in this new 21st century has a lot to do with the fact that I’m not so sure that all the changing roles that women have made, all the obstacles that women have overcome, and all the progressive changes that women have made has not elevated our society to a higher value norm.  Certainly [in my mind], the progressive strides that women have made came at a phenomenal price - particularly and specifically as it relates to the nuclear family - no matter how ‘creatively’ sociologist have redefined the term of family in this century.  And, it is in this context that I feel ‘out of touch’ and somewhat uncomfortable in a world I no longer recognize …  where most of my nieces don’t have husbands, where two of my grandchildren do not live with both parents, where the UPS delivery person who brought the last heavy package to my door was a woman, where I sometime cannot distinguish what gender a person is by the way they dress, where I cannot understand my inner conflict when I simply feel it’s unfeminine for women to be in roles of aggression - women police officers and security guards, or women in combat …  

I suppose my dilemna is that I’m still struggling to ‘adapt’ to a changing world that is redifining itself far faster than my ablility to grasp and embrace new core belief systems that makes sense.

Autumn.

I lived most of my life in the mid-Atlantic region, and autumn is by far my favorite season.

I have a very good friend who is a doctor.  But, I don’t discuss medical issues with him because we more often talk about personal matters [our children and grandchildren, etc.], which have nothing whatever to do with my health.  Yet my [current] primary care physician is ‘old as dirt’ and nosey.  I trust him because he’s been around forever [retired from head hospital administrator], and now is content in private practice as a diagnosis specialist.  I adore him because he is frank and shameless in his questions, and there is nothing that I don’t discuss with him because I trust him.

Ah!  The word, ‘expert’. 

By whose definition, I wonder?

There have been many outstanding individuals [famous and not so famous] who helped me shape the ideals I’ve lived by.  Certainly, my parents and grandparents are at the top of this list, although none were ‘experts’ or held doctorate degrees.  But, also I was an avid reader at an early age, and there were many well known writers in literature, history, and philosophy from whom I embraced many of the values, which have become the basis of my belief system.  Curiously, these belief systems, respective to how I perceive my self in looks, character, lifestyle, and general interests have changed with each passing decade.

I enjoy, and am often engrossed learning the perspectives of others.  Yet ultimately, no matter how much I may revere the advice of renowned ‘experts’, life changing choices [good and bad] are unequivocally my own.

No caption comes to my mind because, "Some pictures say a thousand words".

I love your story. How cute!

I went ‘natural’ ten years ago.  I love it.  I wash, condition, then part it down the middle, braid the two sections, then roll the ends.  When I come it out, it has a ‘natural’ wavy look, that I’m content with.  

Sigma?  I’ve been an AARP member for ten years, and I’m a frequent blogger in many of the groups on the AARP.org community website. 

I definitely do not agree that there is a ‘stigma’ associated with being a ‘senior’.  On the contrary!  When I turned 50, I felt I had finally earned my entry into adulthood.  In fact, I would not trade being 50+ for 25-, although I wish I had the [physical] energy and stamina as I did in my younger years.  As for senior ‘discounts’, I enjoy them … because they are well earned. 

***copy of my [reply] post to: Kelly In Texas

Kelly,

My apology to [you] any poster who interpreted my previous post as you did when you replied that, "Maizie…you do not give the sources cited here any credence, and you consider ALL posting merely opinion."  

I regret thay my wording was such that you misunderstood the point I attempted to make.  And, I surely do not consider all posting here on wOw as ‘merely opinion’.  

Kelly, you went on to comment that my views are ‘shortsighted’.  Perhaps.  But, my assumption has always been that the women and men who post here on wOw are highly educated, and all have their favorite reference sources for accessing national, international, and personal information that they find useful, educational, and enlightening.   For this reason it is by choice that I attempt to avoid posting lengthy researched discussions [diatribes] in an attempt to persuade, badger, or insult other posters who may or may not agree with me, primarily because of how the format [my interpretation] of this site was originally designed.

I discovered wOw a few weeks after this site was launched when I saw the founders on the PBS talk show, CHARLIE ROSE.   What struck me most as I listened to these remarkable women discuss their goals/objective for this website was their emphasis on the word "conversations".  They explained that wOw as designed primarily where women/men could come and share conversation through comments and opinions on any topic.  There was never any suggestion that wOw was intended for straightforward news journalism.  But rather, it would be a forum where women/men over forty would voice their various points of views.  And, of course, the rest is ‘history’.   Since then, this site has certainly evolved into more than the founders envisioned/imagined.  And, I certainly have learned a lot here through the information that posters share.  Yet, when I ‘pop in’ on wOw to post, it is my opinion, I share rather than documented researched information to persuade.

Respective to your incendiary comments about Obama, you are entitled to your opinion.  Frankly, I’ve chosen to reserve my thoughts about Obama because my opinions are too far sweeping - ultra conservative to far left - depending on the specific issue. 

Finally, I always strive to become more well read.  But again Kelly, although I’ve amassed many new resources for books and news articles here on wOw, this is not the place I come expand my knowledge.  Thankfully, there is BARNES&NOBLE or BORDERS, where I can purchase the best selections suggested by NYTIMES, and many other sources for the purpose of educational enlightenment.

Have a great weekend!

By Maizie James on 07/17/2009 5:13 pm