Much food for thought here, Regis. I think every generation has asked many of those same questions.
Larry

Excellent write ... !!

Thank you for posting...it was a valuable read.

...jeanne...

well said

Wow! This is a very moving and powerful write my friend...I hear and understand what your heart is crying. The bible does teach us that God's word must be preached to all nations before the end comes, and then the Son will come in the clouds of glory...the word will come to pass, it will be preached and taught, the invitation will be given, but it is up to the individual to answer. Great write my friend very heartfelt and moving.
Blessings for the upcoming year,
Joyce Bowling

Hi Regis, I hear your torment on many levels, but our world is too far gone for man to fix. In fact, man keeps digging a deeper and deeper hole, hoping to eventually hit gold. But that just isn't going to happen, not unless man decides to repent and seek the face of Jehovah God. Did He not say, in 11 Chronicles 7:14: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land"? Repentance is the only way, my precious friend. If man decides to remove God altogether, we are doomed, because man has no answers or anything better as a replacement.
Yes, you have deeply stirred my emotions, here. Great write!

God Bless
Peace and Love
Lena

Well done, Reg. Today I am despondent and feel the world will never find its way to sanity and kindness; tomorrow maybe I will believe again that there is hope because there are so many who hope. Do the naysayers outnumber those with hope, or are they just louder and richer? The real danger is that they care less about human life and the quality of human life except for their own.

Excellent write, Reg. Peace. Joyce

Awesome. You really summed it all up in your article. We are the me generation and we don't want to pay for it. Me change? Naw, just throw money on it. It will go away. And it did. The clean streams, the fresh air, the sense of belonging, and a mind not assaulted by an overload of stimulation. Excellent. Liz

An excellent powerful piece . Wow! Our world has changed so dramitically from the 60s, and even before then. Sometimes the changes really scare me. It seems we are heading toward the enevitable. You are right about the changes starting with us,.It sholud be a huge collective effort in the long run to help them take place. Much is held in the hands and powers of others tho......M

i think we are destroying ourselves and our planet--you say so many right things here but, realistically, how many people are going to sacrifice themselves for another? isn't that part of how we got to this point in the first place? at least you see and feel all these things--the change begins, as always said, with each of us--what you seek is a collective change and that's another story, a change terribly hard to bring about if even possible. i could go on, but...anyway, thanks for sharing and inviting us to see these things with our limited vision.

Regis, I agree totally that change must begin within us. Our conscious decision and commitment to "Do Unto Others" is the only way any form of collective balance can be attained. Good on you!
And heartfelt wishes in this challenging new year. Jerelyn

Very good viewpoint... We all need to do our part! One way, as it is written is exhorting one another... It hurts sometimes, but as the old lady on the Never Ending Story says, "it has to hurt to heal..."

Merry Christmas
Peace&Grace throughout the New Year,
Sharon

Another great offering Regis!!

Merry Christmas Dear one!!

Love TinkaSweets

Hi Reg,
Good work. I wish you well Reg. I don't know if you can change things but we need you. Good Luck

Amen and amen!!! What more can I say?

Good article, Regis. It is difficult to watch, especially, as you point out, from our generation that was so full of good intended ideas to change the future...the world. Perhaps it is the lingering animalistic energies within us, unable to reconcile themselves with a "civilized" need, that brings us as a flocking hoard of sheep to the brink of failure as a species. And perhaps there are yet those energies within the grasp of all, if they care to look, and put away their preconcieved, pretaught, passed down from their previous failures concepts, tenets, and falsely directed beliefs...perhaps these energies might yet teach us to care for each other and the world around us? Anyway, enough of my philosophy. This was a very well thought out and worded text. Much to think about...much to think about...

Very good perspectives explored here.

Chrissy

Timely and controversial topic addressed cogently. I, too, "feel sadness for the misery, the pain, the hurt that man continues to inflict upon the weak and powerless under the guise of necessity;" I don't know exactly what the answer is to today's problems with "terrorism," but peace and compassion begins in the individual heart -- and to solve the global issue -- that takes a lot of hearts. Good article. R

An interesting and dare I say familiar word of reflection.
Coming from a sectarian background I have no problems as to what constitutes a terrorist. I certainly make no moral equivalence between a soldier and a terrorist: the former attacks the latter in order to stop him deliberately attacking innocent unarmed shoppers, worshipers or wedding guests etc. We can only address the issue of war if the other side is willing too as well. In the meantime, we have to batten down the hatches, as it were, as man has been doing since he first stepped out of the sinless, peaceful confines of Eden. Ultimately, the war is with human nature, something that Marx failed to consider. Besides, he wasn't exactly the proletariate's friend.
This aside, from my experience growing up in the 60s and entering adulthood in the early 70s, dreamers and junkies like 'turn on, tune in, drop out' Leary offered no alternative. These guys were detached from reality and did not represent me at all. The Beatles chimed 'all you need is love', then what? John Lennon's Imagine was and is utopian. We have the sorry legacy of the hedonistic 60s today. This does not need to be spelled out.
For me as a former rebel wearing other people's clothes and singing and dancing to their tune, I ultimately grew up. I found faith in God, and although the path has been rocky at times, I know my hope is drawing near.
Thanks for sparking this momentary lapse into my own personal reflection.
All the best to you for the coming year, my friend.

REG - GOOD ARTICLE, BUT I DON'T THINK ALL IS LOST - YET!

I shall only reply with 3 separate and unrelated quotes:

1. from William Shakespeare, via his character, PUCK, from a "Midsummer Night's Dream" -
"WHAT FOOLS THESE MORTALS BE!"

2. from a new movie "The SECRET" that is starting to sweep the self-help world:
"Energy attracts like energy!" (in essence, you get back what you give).

3. from AMELIA EARHART:
"Courage is the Price that LIFE Exacts for gaining Peace!"

Keep on Keepin' on! Tom.

This is really heavy, but it is also LIGHT. Many philosophies to think about. People are only as happy as they want to be. In my view, the great next awakening, like those of the past, will gather force when it finds a quintessential form, calling upon our common history and our core values and recombining them with new ideas and new realities. Health and Vigor to you, Regis! Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Love,

Sage

We may not be able to change the world Reg, but if we are all as like minded as yourself we can start with our own little bit of world. Our next door neighbour, the postman, the butcher, baker the milkman. Most of all our own immedeate family then our extended family. Remember the film "The Power Of One" That is you and I and all the others. Dont try and change the world, just your little part of it.
The world as a whole will not change, leave that to Him who has it all under His control.

Let your neighbour be able to say "There goes Reg, you can trust him".

Regards to you my friend.

Robert

Regis Its Dam Great Articles,i.e. Altho I Don't Always Comment I Read Your Articles Sha Tara--To Few Here Do Anything To Get Involved Until It Is Already Too Late...

KEEP WRITING RIGHT ON...

TRASK

What a thought provoking piece..comes from a deep place, Regis, if only there were more people who cared to even consider making our world better..but it is still a ME type of world...Woodstock, eh??? As Elizabeth put it, "an old hippie?" at heart, aren't we all?? been there, done that memories...what did you mean by your will be saddened to leave here...was it a personal comment, or just a general one..--and as someone else said, hope you are OK..

The hard truth sometimes must be addressed in order for us to snap out of dream existence and save ourselves. This is the message that has to be received so we will survive. Thank you for bringing this to our attention in such well-written essay.

Much Peace to You,

RM Green

Now that, Regis, is inspiring. I understand that some think that facing these issues is depressing but I will side with you, we have to face these issues. This is not about one country, it's about all of us that live here now.

One thing I'd like to add is that sometimes selfless giving is about taking care of oneself through compassion, care and honesty toward self. We don't need anymore martyrs to save the world. We need the forces of passion for humanity and other life on earth to stay here and fuel the fires we all need to keep going.

Sad but so much truth. I do however, see, hear, and read more about so many people trying to make a difference in our world.
just this Christmas season more and more people are talking about the real purpose of Christmas and how they are beginning to change their own thoughts & habits and teaching their children the true meaning of Christmas.

I wonder though Reg and am concerned about something you said above "sadness that soon I must leave here" ...please let us know what you mean by this Reg. I pray you are ok.
Blessings to you...

Wow Regis, this is a stunning write.
I could say a lot, but America has
turned into a big winner.
Oscar for sure.
We spoil our kids rotten.
We make murders famous.
We let our politicians rob us daily.
We have no health care anyone can afford.
Too many rules and regulations.
Good men are dieing for people who think
dieing is a joke.
Prices are out of site. Utilities
food, rent, etc.
Good things could be in our world, but
this will never be.
Have a great Holiday Regis..
My favorite times were the late 60's and
all of the 70's.....

Very well articulated Regis, however I think you judge our generation too harshly. Many of us (I suspect you are one) have continued to try to live with the ideals of the 60's guiding our lives even if we have failed some of the time. I have been a social worker for 29 years and the ideals of the 60's have been my way and I know a lot of good stuff has happened. I have to believe this is true for many others as well. Happy Holiday to you Regis. All the best, Malcolm

Strong statements and emotions run through this write from beginning to end but I,also as a survivor of the sixties, do not feel that all was a lost cause or total defeat. We learned that voices could be heard if we yelled loud enough, we made an impression that youth have followed that they no longer look blindly at what ever it is the government want to push down there throats and we made inroads into civil rights that without the sixties intervention may have taken centuries to achieve. Perhaps we did get off track at the last with the booze, drugs and rock and roll but we also brought down a government and watched wall tumble after them. I know how you feel Reg but I must believe that our true legacy is the message we teach and set for our children and grandchildren and as long as I live and breath on this world I will instill in my kids what we strived for in the sixties...at least the peace part.
Merry Christmas and a Hope for a better world tomorrow,
Fee

Merry Christmas, Regis,,my grandmother once told me, man would destroy man, eventually,,and we are living it everyday.

We do create our own reality. I see it all as a test of what we will do, how we respond, and in the end, it will be our gift back to our Creator.

(Regis, you are an old hippie! Bless you!)

Good article. Have a great Christmas!

Much affection,
Elizabeth

well put and well thought out-thank you for sharing and causing others to think as well

What defeated us? We did.

An unfortunate truth. We sold ourselves out to drugs, sex and easy living. We wanted nothing more than to improve the world but we forgot that the improvement must start with each and every one of us. Today there are few who hold ideals. There are only those with memories of better times. Or so we think. You cannot change the world unless you are willing to start with yourself. That is a problem with youth. That is why they say it is wasted on the young. When I was young I thought I had the answers. Now I am old. I know how little I know. If only I would have known that then.
This was a beautiful piece of literature which captures the flaws in humanity as well as the ability to dream.

God Bless,
Lew

well thought and vented article of the current state of non-union...
my reply comes from today's shamanic astrology reading...(i don't write these, just subscribe)
"Dec 23, Saturday. The waxing crescent Moon is conjunct Neptune (18 Aquarius) energizing the collective field of dreams we all share a part of through our own dreaming especially when we are imaging a peaceful, loving, harmonious world. We create our reality through our thoughts, feelings and actions and what we imagine and dream. When we intentionally tap into the universal dreaming field through meditation, prayer, and ceremony, we are acting as conscious co-creators of the emerging reality. We are in fact helping to “dream the dream onward.”

Perhaps with encouragement we will all begin to dream forward something more resembling the golden paradise for all.

A somber note to end the old year.