Reflections on a Monday...

I think there's something we don't fully recognize, in ourselves and in others sometimes.
It's hard to look in a mirror and even harder to see what's there.
Sometimes I wonder if my words have a negative effect on people.  If my actions are more helpful or hindering.
And most of the time, there is no answer.  No image in the mirror I can see or perhaps it's time I wear some glasses.
Other times, I tell myself that it's only a matter of perspective and it is up to each of us, to find the good in horrible places, or the bad in great places.

One of my biggest writing heroes is a woman named Nik Vincent.  I don't think of her as a "giant" sword wielding hero like the ones in her husband's books.
But a hero, nonetheless and it might be hard to see why.

I look up to Nik because she has the courage to share her thoughts with the whole freakin' messed up world.
She types about women's rights, she talks about politics and religion and writing and movies and sex and there's not too much I haven't seen her not type about you know.

I see her as the huge castle walls, protecting and securing her place in the world, for her people, and for many others.
And I see a whole bunch of crazy primitives out there shooting arrows, trying to storm her sanity.  Occasionally they get past the barricades and the moat and I love watchin' Nik's defenders pour the burning oil, especially when they follow it up with the chicken feathers eh.
I see her as invulnerable to attacks and I don't see many others with the cajones to do the same.

We live in a world where our reputation means so much to us.  We strive to make others see us how we would like to be seen.
For some, it means they don't have to have a strong wall, no defenders, no oil because they never risk anything, they stay in the shadows and don't speak their minds when the opportunity arises.
For others, they carelessly encourage attacks, then spend a while in hurt land picking up the remnants of their broken walls.

Nik is my hero because she tolerates me when I fire all my canons at her fortifications.  She even smiles while she's encouraging me to load another round.
It is a strength I hope to someday have, to be as solid and impermeable.
And while I like to think that there is a nice soft, sweet side to Nik, all buried in those monster walls, I have to admit that I don't really know, I've never met her and only know her through her words.

Is what I perceive accurate?  Do I want her to be indestructible, to be a beacon of hope in a very dark world?
Do I want to continue to criticize, even when most of me agrees with everything she writes..?
Do I want to feel the attacks when they come to my walls and will I handle them as well as I believe Nik does?

It is hard to see things sometimes.  With my nose pressed against the mirror, I still wonder if there's a Bishop, calmly wavin' his hand in there somewhere.

The Big Work Around...

The following is a direct response to what was written here...

http://www.nicolavincent-abnett.com/2016/02/from-each-according-to-his-ability-to.html



Phew, challenging article Nik..!
I read this one and thought, jeeze, I know I'm busy, I know I said I was gonna retire my blog site...
But, but, but..!

You make some logical points and I liked 'em.  I especially liked it when you said "You know that I’m going somewhere with this, don’t you?"

My perspective is not all that different but it is a little more mathematical.  I put the pros on one side of the scale and the cons on the other and see which one is slightly heavier, then I bash that scale with my hammer and call for a re weigh.
Should we help others?  Sure, I don't need quotes from some "holy" book to tell me I should be a good person.
Should we let others think that if something is virtually "free" that they shouldn't take..?

Humility is one of the first things that leaves us, as a society, apparently.  I don't know where it goes, I still have mine tucked in a drawer somewhere and I've been homeless and needed someone else to feed me on "many" occasions.
I happen to be a whole lot of underemployed and my family collects the much debated food stamps (this is basically where the government gives you free food, no alcohol or cigarettes but pop and chips, you got it).
There's little or no regulation, no one checking up on you to see that you actually spent your allowance on food.  Many people will sell their stamps at half price for the cash they need for their addictions.
I've never sold stamps but I know that it's a very popular perspective.  You need money to pay the electric bill, all the pop and chips in the world won't be accepted by my electric company.

Should I work really hard to make just enough money to afford my own food when the government will surely hand out more after more..?
(This is another large reason I can't support my own country's government...)
If my choices are, work at the restaurant over the hot fryer for eight hours a day, put my kid in a day care where they'll treat him like a farm animal all day, every...
Or sit back and spend my food stamps with my kid in front of the tele, how hard is that to understand?
I can't look down on people for doin' what humans do.  We are naturally lazy people.  We won't work when we don't have to (well, most of us won't eh, where's my carrot when I need it...)

Where is the common ground and come on Bishop, there has to be somethin' positive about this situation.  Isn't there..?
Nopes, I can't find one.  We want to help people, we want to be "decent" but the majority of people will abuse the system and we can't pay enough workers to stop in at people's homes during dinner time, to see if they're spending their stamps in approved ways.

If we put a time limit on how long some people can continue to collect (much like with our current system of unemployment benefits), one side screams "how can you do that you uncaring monster.?!)
And we have to drive by the panhandlers on the sidewalks with their cardboard signs.  And their dirty sad faces and who wants that...

I'm all for cuttin' people off completely, no more help from the government.  Period.  There might be some revolts, crime might skyrocket as people must steal but hey, much like in nature, if there's not enough food to go 'round, you either move to somewhere else or, you die.
Seems like the death option is sound.  Overpopulation is a big cause of unemployment and can we really expect to make more babies than jobs every year, indefinitely?
The system must break at some point right.  I'm surprised it hasn't broken already but then, look at our national debt (almost twenty two trillion, yeps thats a "T" for trillions, everybody say it now...)

The alternative, remember my math, the scales.  Is that we crank out a crap more jobs, possibly creating a "check up on your food stamp usage at random times" taskforce.
Or, we move to somewhere we there won't be anyone that will take advantage.
But like I said, most humans will take advantage huh.
Your choices, our choices, are to pay for others when they don't deserve it, or live alone in the woods in an empire of one (possibly two if you can stand your spouse and their laziness).

We, or I, can't blame the little people with empty bellies.  And we, or I again, can't blame the empire of one's who hoard all their money and find clever ways to avoid paying for the rest of the world's irresponsibility.
Way to pull me out of my slump Smiley..!

Equal in time...

Oh where o where does all the time go...
I've read so very much on Nik Vincent's blog site.  So much that interests me, challenges me, compels me to type.  But the time thing, oh my goshes how it churns...
I love the stories about Dan, about his current project, Wild's End (something that jumped to the top of my wish list), I'm oh so curious about his new video game and can we get the name yet or it's all hush hush..?

I've actually typed responses and contributions to many blog articles but I find myself not publishing them as I have a problem with perfection.  As in, if I give it a reread and it doesn't feel "perfect" in my mind, I won't share it.
Even if I have an audience of less than ten and nobody cares about my version of perfection.
It still prevents me from sharing and there they sit, nestled in my hard drive for some other day.

So as things become more time consuming or less, I have to shift gears.  I can't spend all day typing to my internet friends, I can't type on my blog and write a few thousand in my first novel.
Throw in my three sons and demanding wife and there just isn't the time you know.

I'm pushing this puppy to the back burner for a while.  It pains me as I love to write like this and I seriously hope I can pick it back up as my time allows.  Someday.
Until then, I want to thank you all, you mean so much to me.
I want to special thanks to Nik, I still read your stuff and check your blog everyday.  I feel like you guys are part of my family and will always be.
But for now, be good to each other people.