First Principles: The Evils We Experience Flow From the Excess of Democracy. The People Do Not Want Virtue, But Are the Dupes of Pretended Patriots

“The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy. The people do not want virtue, but are the dupes of pretended patriots.” —Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814)

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Thought For the Day: In America, You Can Go As High As Your Character, Your Talent, & Your Grit Will Take You

“The radical Left thinks the only way to be successful in this country as a child of color is to be the ‘exception.’ Yesterday’s exception is today’s RULE. In America, you can go as high as your character, your talent, & your grit will take you.” – Senator Tim Scott (R-SC)

This gentleman remembers and stands by the principled words and beliefs that Martin Luther King Jr. fought and died for. Perhaps some, if not all, the Democratic Party remembers might take a moment to reflect on this and the call the abusive members of their party into check. For example, do these words by Tim Scott ring a bell in the limited recall of history by most in the Socialist wing of the Democratic Party?

“We are not defined by the color of our skin. We are defined by the content of our character, and if anyone tells you anything different, they’re lying.” – Tim Scott

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Growing Up In the Tropics

Ellimata Banyandah - Shorebreak Through the Trees
Growing Up in the Tropics
by Michael Doyle

Across the tropics, in early morning,
We awaken sleepless, feeling the sun
Shining like a dream

Be it Cuba, Hawaii, or the Philippines
The breeze blows by coolly
Turning the wind vanes slowly

Dragonflies and butterflies float
On mica wings or multi-colors that ride
On that breeze or rest on the reeds

The colored skies awaken as we yawn
Welcoming another sleepy day
Slack-eyed and drowsy, waiting to see

What this new day might yet bring
A moment's rain followed by sunshine
Living on the notorious island time

The good sun shines onto the fields
Of pineapple, sugar cane, rice paddies
Bringing nourishment to us all

The instinct to hit the beach
Fits the slow heat like an answer
Waves and tropical fish call to us

And we, as children, turned to each other
In the ripe air of summer all year long
A peaceful bliss called our names

We were the children raised by the tropics
Happily glazed into that slowness
Of knowing there was happiness enough for all

(c) June 4, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Ellimata Banyandah -Kicking it At Jon's Place

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Resting on Holy Ground

The Pond - Egret Rests On Rock
Resting on Holy Ground
by Michael Doyle

The best assurance that is yet to come
Comes when we first step into the kingdom
The blessings will come to breakthrough
Miracles are coming for those like me and you

The promises prevail as these are heaven made
We can take courage and stand up unafraid
The battles fought hard can be like tasting death
Yet leave us in praise to our dying breath

We can rely on God's assurance just because
We know with certainty that he fights for us
In every moment, we must lift up our heads
Beneath Heaven's gaze with all praise said

As humble servants living in all of our days
We lift Jesus's name in our humblest praise
The king of glory is as mighty as He is strong
It is to His cause that we Christians do belong

As steady as our eyes looking into God's face
It's in our devotion that we accept his embrace
Finding our souls resting on God's holy ground
Filled with peace as wonderous as it is profound

(c) June 4, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Silent Beauties by Fly Kugin - Angels Rest

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First Principles: Do You Wish To Rise? Begin By Descending. You Plan A Tower That Will Pierce the Clouds? Lay First the Foundation of Humility

“Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.” – St. Augustine (354-430)

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Thought For the Day: I Distrust Those People Who Know So Well What God Wants Them To Do Because I Notice It Always Coincides With Their Own Desires

“I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.” – Susan B Anthony, reformer and suffragist (1820-1906)

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First Principles: It Is Highly Important That You Should Endeavor Not Only To Be Learned But Virtuous

“It is … highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous.” – George Washington (1790)

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Thought For the Day: A Career Is Wonderful, But You Can’t Curl Up With It On A Cold Night

“A career is wonderful, but you can’t curl up with it on a cold night.” – Marilyn Monroe, actress (1 Jun 1926-1962)

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Sandhill Cranes Revisited

Luane's Winter World-  Cranes light the Way
Sandhill Cranes Revisited
by Michael Doyle

Every year
Sometimes twice a year
We would make our pilgrimage
Off to Jasper Pulaski
Tens of thousands of cranes
Filled the air
Zoning in on their nesting grounds

Zig-zag patterns as grouping
Crossed by grouping
Into what looks like feathered paratroopers
Coming in for a landing

It is said that sandhill cranes
Mate for life when it's possible
Sticking together in familial groups
Sometimes with their fledglings along
I sometimes wish I had been so blessed
But humans are different
Or so I guess...

Other times,
We'd watch their courtships in motion
Rituals of dance
That seemed so inspired in every moment
Sounding off in romance
Bobbing and weaving
They danced, these romantic couples
There on their migrations
The cranes did not forget who they loved
In all the thousands of miles of flight
The cranes remembered
As they danced and rested

There on one of the two migratory routes
That stretched
From the North of Canada
To the south in Florida
This great midwestern flyway
Was ingrained in their minds and hearts
Somehow they knew its history well
Now as I think and I wonder
I puzzle over the things
That passed for hardship
But were they really so

Sometimes, we would stand watching
From the wooden observation platform
There at the semi-marshy field
Designated by humans as the point
Where humans would gather to watch
History in the yearly making
Filed with sandhill cranes
Who only kept flying, dancing, and eating
And while we came to recognize some
We humans, if even a trace, were only fleeting
In the observations of the cranes, we came to see

The promises that we made were in vain
As we watched these cranes in snow and rain
And other times, we would drive the cornfields
Mostly harvested but still holding nourishment
In the spring, these fields newly planted
And had scrabbles of food for the birds to eat
Funny how nature holds to its promises and keeps them
As best that it can, survival finds its way
We would watch and learn from these familial units
And I would think on their natural wisdom

Familial units, that in some ways,
Were much like ours
We watched as momma and poppa taught their young
Us watching them with...happiness
Them watching us with disregard... or weariness
Nature knows its cycles
There is much to learn from that

It's good to know some things really do last
Cranes mate forever
Or until one or the other dies
It is said that they sorrow when that happens
Cranes mate forever
Humans fail at that far too often
For thousands of years, this has been a lesson taught
When I look at our children, I hope they have
They learned this and will carry this tradition
To their next generation
The way that it should be
The way that it could be
If only, humans were better at learning

(c) June 2, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Immaterial - Crane Style

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Thought For the Day: There Is A Price To Pay For Speaking the Truth. There Is A Bigger Price For Living A Lie

“There is a price to pay for speaking the truth. There is a bigger price for living a lie.” – Cornel West, author and philosopher (b. 2 Jun 1953)

Though I disagree with many of the conclusions reached by Cornel West, there is much truth in this statement. The unfortunate part is that he has chosen to believe in one of the biggest lies, socialism. I suppose that it is as Gobbels stated, the biggest lies are those believed in the most by some.

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