Orwell was right when he said the Big Brother is watching. More and more our lives are structured around the footprints we leave that can be tracked. If you don't believe this is true, just watch some of the television programs that show how our cell phones, credit cards, and GPS on our cars can help to locate us.
Many of us use our ATM cards when shopping instead of carrying cash. We go to the gas station, grocery store, order items online, etc. all with the use of an electronic card. It leaves a track of all our activities. I like to use the ATM card so I can account for how I spend my money. Having cash in my pocket always makes it go faster. It's also convenient, I don't have to go in to the gas station, just swipe my card, pump the gas, and I'm on my way. No fumbling around for change when checking out. You have a record of who you paid when, and if there is any problem you can actually access that information.
Many stores frown on cash, and a card is certainly safer than carrying money.
Many jobs now check your credit - which I think is an invasion of privacy since most jobs don't require you to handle large amounts of money. An employer has no reason to access your credit report, it does not show how well qualified you are for a job. In this economy, many people are struggling to pay bills, and the banks are no help. They will report you if you are a day late (and it comes out on the report as 30 days). One of my credit card companies says I am late if I pay ON THE DAY the payment is due! With the use of money transfers - these payments are recorded immediately and the money is then transferred from one institution to another in a matter of minutes - all electronically.
With identity theft an ever-increasing problem, access to your credit report should be allowed ONLY if the individual wants that person to have access. Right now, every Tom, Dick and Harry can get a credit report on you - without your knowledge, yet you get points deducted if too many people are checking out your report. There is no reasoning to this!
If our lives are to be governed by credit reports, then we should have free access to our own report at all times - and delete or challenge the activity as we want. That is our right!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
D-Day Salute
Yesterday was the 65th Anniversary of D-Day. It was the day, as President Obama said, "That changed history forever." It also was a day of more bravery and sacrifice ever seen on the battlefield, before or since.
I was not born when this event took place, and if it weren't for the friendship of one of these exemplenary soldiers I would only know what I read in books and online. The "Greatest Generation" is no misnomer. Those who fought and watched their comrades die on Normandy Beach (and all the other beaches throughout France during WW II) and lived to go on, do not talk about their experience. After 65 years it's still difficult to talk about to those who were not there. The ones decorated don't think of themselves as heros, and if you were not close to them you would never know they even received these awards.
My friend, Glen Edquist, is one of those special people. Now in his 80's, Glen will not tell anyone that he won a bronze star and at least one purple heart. The only reason I know is that I saw them in his basement, as part of a patriotic display of his comrades - taken during the war and after.
I helped Glen, for several years, to update his mailing list and do some small tasks as he and another friend or two put together a reunion - something they have done (with a few exceptions) annually since returning from the war. I watched the mailing list shrink each year, and typed the letter to his friends informing them of the health, or parting, of another member. These men and women think of each other as family, and their feelings for each other are just as strong today as they were 65 years ago.
Glen, like many of his friends, returned to the States after the war and got married, raised families and continued on living normal everyday lives. They suppressed the horrors they had witnessed, and retained a patriotism that few of the younger generations either knew or tried to understand. They contributed to their community, and continued to make huge inroads into the improvement of the quality of life around them.
Glen and his wife, Maxine, are very civic minded. They were deeply involved with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity (where I met them) and the Democratic Party until a couple years ago, when Maxine was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Glen is her caretaker and constant companion, as they have been for over 60 years. The devotion to each other is evident, and Glen is a compassionate and loving spouse - and it is taking a toll on his health. Being proud and stubborn as he is, he will not accept help (another trait of that generation).
Glen continues to write letters to the editor of local newspapers when he sees something that eats at his "craw." Although some would think Glen to be a "curmudgeon" (a miser or an ill-tempered - and frequently old person, full of stubborn ideas or opinions.) he and Maxine have never turned their backs when they see something or someone in trouble. What some see as harsh, I look beyond that to see one of the kindest men I have ever known.
Glen will never tell anyone, but he and Maxine were there to support me when I decided to start a local newspaper, years ago. They not only verbally supported me, they gave me seed money to get started. When I asked them why, they said they had faith that I could be successful, and wanted to help. Years later, I can never totally repay their money or their confidence - and they will never know how much that support meant to me.
When people ask who their heroes are I don't say some athlete, movie star or politician. I tell them that the biggest heroes I have, outside of my parents - are Glen and Maxine Edquist. Everyday people with larger than life hearts. Who have seen the battlefields, and used that experience to make the world a better place.
I salute Glen, his comrades, and their spouses. They are the American Dream.
I was not born when this event took place, and if it weren't for the friendship of one of these exemplenary soldiers I would only know what I read in books and online. The "Greatest Generation" is no misnomer. Those who fought and watched their comrades die on Normandy Beach (and all the other beaches throughout France during WW II) and lived to go on, do not talk about their experience. After 65 years it's still difficult to talk about to those who were not there. The ones decorated don't think of themselves as heros, and if you were not close to them you would never know they even received these awards.
My friend, Glen Edquist, is one of those special people. Now in his 80's, Glen will not tell anyone that he won a bronze star and at least one purple heart. The only reason I know is that I saw them in his basement, as part of a patriotic display of his comrades - taken during the war and after.
I helped Glen, for several years, to update his mailing list and do some small tasks as he and another friend or two put together a reunion - something they have done (with a few exceptions) annually since returning from the war. I watched the mailing list shrink each year, and typed the letter to his friends informing them of the health, or parting, of another member. These men and women think of each other as family, and their feelings for each other are just as strong today as they were 65 years ago.
Glen, like many of his friends, returned to the States after the war and got married, raised families and continued on living normal everyday lives. They suppressed the horrors they had witnessed, and retained a patriotism that few of the younger generations either knew or tried to understand. They contributed to their community, and continued to make huge inroads into the improvement of the quality of life around them.
Glen and his wife, Maxine, are very civic minded. They were deeply involved with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity (where I met them) and the Democratic Party until a couple years ago, when Maxine was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Glen is her caretaker and constant companion, as they have been for over 60 years. The devotion to each other is evident, and Glen is a compassionate and loving spouse - and it is taking a toll on his health. Being proud and stubborn as he is, he will not accept help (another trait of that generation).
Glen continues to write letters to the editor of local newspapers when he sees something that eats at his "craw." Although some would think Glen to be a "curmudgeon" (a miser or an ill-tempered - and frequently old person, full of stubborn ideas or opinions.) he and Maxine have never turned their backs when they see something or someone in trouble. What some see as harsh, I look beyond that to see one of the kindest men I have ever known.
Glen will never tell anyone, but he and Maxine were there to support me when I decided to start a local newspaper, years ago. They not only verbally supported me, they gave me seed money to get started. When I asked them why, they said they had faith that I could be successful, and wanted to help. Years later, I can never totally repay their money or their confidence - and they will never know how much that support meant to me.
When people ask who their heroes are I don't say some athlete, movie star or politician. I tell them that the biggest heroes I have, outside of my parents - are Glen and Maxine Edquist. Everyday people with larger than life hearts. Who have seen the battlefields, and used that experience to make the world a better place.
I salute Glen, his comrades, and their spouses. They are the American Dream.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
On Adoption
I was adopted in the early 50's, when adoption was closed. Unfortunately there was no record of medical history. Even after I opened the files I was not able to get too much information.
In my 20's I was asked to participate in a forum about the pros and cons of open and closed adoption. I observed, and listened to the couple who adopted children in an open adoption tell how wonderful it was - in front of the birth mother and counselors. When we were outside the room it was a different story.
Adoptive parents feel the only way they can get a child is to agree to an open adoption. They feel the birth parents are there for all the parties and holidays, but they don't have to assume any of the responsibilities. They also said they felt threatened by the presence of the birth mother in the life of their child.
I know they didn't speak for all open adoption parents. I can't speak for all closed adoption parents. I know my adoptive parents were always looking over their shoulders, hoping the birth mother would not come back and take us (my brother and sister were adopted too, from the same birth mother).
In my opinion, as difficult as it is for the birth mother to give up her child, it is best to walk away and let them live a peaceful life with one family, without the confusion. The child should be allowed to know they are adopted, and when they want to know about their birth family have that option - when they are older, and if the birth mother wants to. A lawyer or adoption agency should retain information so it is available, and serve as an intermediary between the two.
In my 20's I was asked to participate in a forum about the pros and cons of open and closed adoption. I observed, and listened to the couple who adopted children in an open adoption tell how wonderful it was - in front of the birth mother and counselors. When we were outside the room it was a different story.
Adoptive parents feel the only way they can get a child is to agree to an open adoption. They feel the birth parents are there for all the parties and holidays, but they don't have to assume any of the responsibilities. They also said they felt threatened by the presence of the birth mother in the life of their child.
I know they didn't speak for all open adoption parents. I can't speak for all closed adoption parents. I know my adoptive parents were always looking over their shoulders, hoping the birth mother would not come back and take us (my brother and sister were adopted too, from the same birth mother).
In my opinion, as difficult as it is for the birth mother to give up her child, it is best to walk away and let them live a peaceful life with one family, without the confusion. The child should be allowed to know they are adopted, and when they want to know about their birth family have that option - when they are older, and if the birth mother wants to. A lawyer or adoption agency should retain information so it is available, and serve as an intermediary between the two.
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