Winning Words 9/13/11
“If you think you have it tough, read history books.” (Bill Maher) Maher...You either love him, or you hate him, or you’ve never heard of him. He’s labeled as a comedian, a satirist, a sociopolitical commentator. I don’t always agree with him, but he causes me to think. I’ve read enough history to know that I don’t want to live backwards. Sometimes we forget how good we’ve got it…by comparison, that is. ;-) Jack

FROM JJH IN OHIO: I agree… and like Maher most always ;-)////FROM JACK: Your qualifier is also mine. I'd like a little more humility, or a disclaimer: "I don't have all of the answers." But, I do think that he's funny.

FROM JS IN MICHIGAN: Imagine living in a town with the Mongol Army approaching....they believed in "total" victory////FROM JACK: Imagine living in a town where people were dying of the Black Plague, or living in Somalia today!

FROM GOOD DEBT JON: "Hitting your thumb with a hammer causes you to think too." Rarely funny anymore, Maher, dispenses hateful and vulgar filth against (so called conservative) women and ridicules others he disagrees with. Maher is a master at fomenting division and resentment, while always under the delusion that it is doing something positive. I watched Jon Stewart last night who is also far left, but is funny and thoughtful. Stewart can be a bit crude now and then but on the whole is a gentleman and a thinker. Maher hates so blindly and completely all pretense of any other purpose quickly disappears.////FROM JACK: Is it possible to be led to "think" by someone you disagree with? Is it possible to find "humor" in the words of someone you disagree with? What turns me off is, smugness...from the left or the right.////FROM MORE JON: Then why watch Maher if smugness offends? As to humor yes from many sources including Maher on rare occasions. Though at some point the filth and bile he produces is not worth wading through 30 or 40 minutes sewage. It's your blog, you get the final shot. Have a good day.////FROM JACK: The blog is meant to show how people are reacting. I must confess that I could do a better job of listening to "balanced" news programming, but I think there are many who are like me...and an increasing number who are avoiding TV news altogether.////GOOD DEBT AGAIN: The major cable channels in my area are: A. Bitter right_205 B. Bitter left _ 209

FROM RJP IN FLORIDA: Of all the thousands of people one can quote, I am shocked you would use anything from Bill Maher. This is the guy that made a movie about religion being a fraud. As far as I am concerned he is not worth the print on my paper. There are many people I disagree with but can respect. He is not one of them. Sorry Pastor, this is not just having an open mind this is advancing an individual who is patently destructive.////FROM JACK: Evidently, you've heard of Bill Maher. What did you think of the quote and what I wrote about it?////MORE FROM RJP: I agree with you I would not want to go back in history, but isn't it sad that we learn so little from it as we continue to make the same mistakes over and over. As Ben Franklin said," Experience keeps a dear school, but a fool will learn in no other." Unfortunately I have had that lesson put upon me far too many times.////FROM JACK: I would like to think that I learned something by paying attention in history class and by listening to "the old folks" at home.

FROM YOOPER PAT: Amen!////FROM JACK: Amen? to Bill? to the quote? to my interpretation? to just be agreeable?

FROM ST IN MICHIGAN: Great quote!////FROM JACK: Not all agree with you, but I do.

FROM SH IN MICHIGAN: Enjoy meditating on your Winning Words once again this morning. They are making me think. Tomorrow, my husband and I are travelling back to Iowa, especially to spend a week or ten days with Essie, his Mom. We are hoping to make some visits to check out Assisted Living Homes in the area. She is up and down on the idea. When she's feeling pretty good, she wants to stay right where she is in her own apartment. When she's feeling "like death warmed over, then she thinks she wants to go into an Assisted Living or even sometimes she thinks she wants to go right into a nursing home. What was aging like in the history books and was it easier back then than now? Or have we made it the hardest thing a person finally has to do? Right at the end times of life, you know, when the body is the most fragile and weakened. I guess the best history book answers my question, "When you grow old, someone will tie a rope around your waist and take you where you don't want to go." I remember something like that somewhere in the Bible. ////FROM JACK: Each generation has its own set of problems, and it shall be so, forevermore. The promise of heaven for generations past, present and future: No more pain and teams. Everlasting joy.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: Whatever you think of Bill Maher, (I appreciate his wit and occasional wisdom!) this is a true observation, especially for us who are blessed to live in the USA. I've traveled most of the world, and am always thankful to return 'home" and pay my taxes. We have SO MANY more options than most of the people of the world!! You are right....we wouldn't want to go backward, even in our own history. For most, life was a daily challenge just to survive. As Ward Cleaver said, "Well, Beaver, this may be hard for you to believe, but life isn't exactly like television." AMEN! :-)////FROM JACK: As Ward Cleaver might have said, "This might be hard for you believe, June, but life wasn't exactly as you remember it."

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: So much for "The good old days," huh?////FROM JACK: What's good about the "old days" is that we can selective in recalling them.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL: As a former history teacher, a LONG time ago, we all know that history repeats itself. Hopefully, we'll some day learn how to reverse that fact. At our age it seems that we have seen it all-the good and the bad- and we just have to do our best every day and set a good example for the generations following us.////FROM JACK: You may be interested (and pleased) to know that my grandson, who is a high school junior, considers history to be one of his favorite subjects. As you must know, history books do not always present the material in an obective way. Is it possible to do so?

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: While I don't hate him, I certainly won't watch him at all. I have seen his program and he is a hate=monger. I would rather watch someone who has the same views but without the filth and hatred. I believe you can disagree with someone's ideas but you don't have to spew the hatred. We haven't watched him in years and probably never will. However, his quote is very true. When I think of the things my own family ancestors had to survive, it's humbling.////FROM JACK: It sounds as though you've listened to him enough to have formed an opinion. The message is what I intended to emphasize, not the messenger.////
OUTHOUSE AGAIN: Yes, I will "try" out some programs. By the way, I did try out the Simpsons. Needless to say, we probably won't be watching them again, but I can say I watched them! Sometimes I don't like the messenger but I do like the message. His message was true!////FROM JACK: If you didn't like the Simpsons, my sister agrees with you. You probably wouldn't like Family Guy, either...so I advise you not to watch it. Although, sometimes it's pretty funny.

FROM JB IN MICHIGAN: Great quote. I saw a similar quote a while back, “If you long for the good old days, turn off your air conditioner.”////FROM JACK: Do you ever do dishes by hand? We got our first dishwasher a couple of months ago. I remember seeing stock market figures being put on a blackboard with chalk....The good old days!

FROM BBC IN ILLINOIS: Nice quote. I like him and find him both funny and caustic. I suppose his extreme is necessary in society to engender the debate he wants to hear. His jabs at organized religion trouble me but they make me feel that he, personally is running away from emotional scars.////FROM JACK: I find that many individuals who have negative feelings toward religion often have "reasons." Standup comedians also seem to have "reasons," as do Lady Gaga and Margaret Cho and others.