My father used to say something along these lines: The worst people talk about people. The best people talk about ideas. Was there a third strata? I wish I could remember. We’ve all been induced to constantly talk about people. That does not mean we are the “worst,” it’s just a Zeitgeist of late. A mimetic thing, that tells people if they expose this one and that one, tyranny will soon dissolve. Rooting out the impure, rooting out the impure, rooting out the impure.
I always say, I'm not afraid of the government, I am afraid of people who are afraid of the government because it is your next door neighbour who turns you in. That, of course, is the point.
I think it was Alexander Solzhenitsyn who said governments throughout history have killed far more of their own citizens than enemy combatants ever did. Governments, tragically, know how to propagandize the public and divide us so that they can conquer us and steal our wealth.
I despair for humanity because just never seem to learn and recognize this with each generation. Because we don't learn our history, we are forever condemned to repeat it.
Ah, this makes me miss my mother so much. She had the most marvelous sense of humor--one of the funniest people I've ever known. She would tell stories like this with all the details that I have also forgotten. My mother was Always for the underdog. She championed them.
For me a heartwarming quote from the Stalin era: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn , The Gulag Archipelago:
“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family?
Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?...
The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt!
If...if...We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation.... We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”!
Its a wonderful story that might work equally well in reverse. That is, a Greek family pretending to be Estonian and the Estonian patriarch instantly recognizing the crisis at hand. Either way, your Dad was a true humanitarian as is his daughter. Eleanor Roosevelt: "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people".
Recently I broke my femur stem and had a hip replacement. If you walked with a cane doing grocery shopping you’d know the goodness of humanity. People are so wonderful, I ask for no help but they reach on top shelves. They put item on the belts to the cashiers. I often get more help then I need laughing “ no no I am fine.” A man grabbed me when I stopped waiting for a family loading up in a race car buggy. I think is this just the South? I am steady as I can be good balance just an atrophied muscle gluteus medius. After finding a second fracture they made me stay off it too long. Still in therapy growing a nerve that only grows a few millimeters a month….
There was an immigrant man who came to Spain from an African country. Let's say, from Congo (not really.) Let's say his name was Pedro (not really.) He learned Spanish fast, he was a good worker, gave no problem to anyone (all true.)
Years pass by.
One day, they call him because his visa is expired. He has to go to apply for a renewal. He goes to the embassy. He's told "go to this place, and ask to see this person. Talk to no one else about this."
The place was a Social Security agency, usually filled with all sorts of people asking for different things. The person was a specific functionary, let's say her name was Luisa.
After a few hours in line, Luisa receives Pedro. Pedro tells his story and shows her a few documents. Luisa starts using the computer. She uses the keyboard and the mouse for a while. She says, "No, there's an error here. The database query returns that you have Spanish nationality. I cannot complete the form for renewal. You don't need to renew your visa to continue living here."
Pedro is surprised. He never applied for nationality. He didn't meet the requirements.
He says "are you sure?"
Luisa says "go to this place with this temporary document and ask for a Spanish passport. Ask to see Marta. Talk to one else but her about this."
Pedro was then a Spanish citizen, due to a computer "error."
The real version of this story happened around 2005.
What was the origin of the error? Don't know, don't care. Pedro was a good man, better than many natural citizens. I say there was no error.
Thanks Celia, great story—I grew up with many such stories of quick ingenuity & random kindness from my parents & family making their way from Yugoslavia to Italy & elsewhere as refugees during WWII...
It’s heartwarming to hear your stories about your dad and how much you admired him. It seems you have many of his wonderful qualities.
Your last sentence struck a chord in me. I understand it well. Just know one of the reasons I subscribe to you is because of your authenticity. You expose your vulnerability even when it might be perceived as negative, crazy or “dull”. Your content is rich and valuable Celia, no matter your mood of the day. The mood ring just popped into my head! We need to bring it back. Remember? I used to love to wear mine even if it wasn’t accurate. It was, if anything, a great conversation piece.
Each day I pray for anyone who was near to or at our nations Kapitol ( this is not a typo ) on J6, each a victim of the entrapment scheme by our own federal government to silence dissent . I compare this to the no action whatsoever against the BLM and Antifa activists called to duty after George Floyd killed himself with a Fentanayl overdose after trying a pass a counterfeit $20.00 bill.
We recognize upside down, complicity, duplicity and obfuscation all supported by the propaganda arm of the progressive Democrats, the mainstream media. There is an effort underway to save America from train platform events but it may be too late. I pray not.
Oh what a beautiful uplifting story. There are many kind people in this world,but I also feel sad to say there are more narcissists than ever. Many come from uncaring environments, and do not know the kindness that this story expresses. I go out each day trying to be kind and appreciative to all who come across my path. As a teacher of many years, my focus was teaching kindness, being grateful, thoughtful manners and that each one of us is loved tremendously by Almighty God. Not one parent complained. If we could all do that, we can make a positive difference in our world.
“Love thy neighbor”. So many do not love themselves in the appropriate way which then creates narcissist.
What a wonderful story. May it be replicated all over the world.
I always say, I'm not afraid of the government, I am afraid of people who are afraid of the government because it is your next door neighbour who turns you in. That, of course, is the point.
I think it was Alexander Solzhenitsyn who said governments throughout history have killed far more of their own citizens than enemy combatants ever did. Governments, tragically, know how to propagandize the public and divide us so that they can conquer us and steal our wealth.
I despair for humanity because just never seem to learn and recognize this with each generation. Because we don't learn our history, we are forever condemned to repeat it.
Ah, this makes me miss my mother so much. She had the most marvelous sense of humor--one of the funniest people I've ever known. She would tell stories like this with all the details that I have also forgotten. My mother was Always for the underdog. She championed them.
For me a heartwarming quote from the Stalin era: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn , The Gulag Archipelago:
“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family?
Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?...
The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt!
If...if...We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation.... We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”!
It is a blessing to have a good father.
Its a wonderful story that might work equally well in reverse. That is, a Greek family pretending to be Estonian and the Estonian patriarch instantly recognizing the crisis at hand. Either way, your Dad was a true humanitarian as is his daughter. Eleanor Roosevelt: "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people".
I knew it as "The best people talk about ideas. The stupid people talk about other people. The worst people talk about themselves."
but in 2024 it would be a UN soldier with a digital spycam and auto-translation. that family would go straight into the cattle car
imagine what stalin, hitler and mao could have done with digital technology
Recently I broke my femur stem and had a hip replacement. If you walked with a cane doing grocery shopping you’d know the goodness of humanity. People are so wonderful, I ask for no help but they reach on top shelves. They put item on the belts to the cashiers. I often get more help then I need laughing “ no no I am fine.” A man grabbed me when I stopped waiting for a family loading up in a race car buggy. I think is this just the South? I am steady as I can be good balance just an atrophied muscle gluteus medius. After finding a second fracture they made me stay off it too long. Still in therapy growing a nerve that only grows a few millimeters a month….
Great minds talk about ideas.
Average minds talk about things.
Small minds talk about people.
That's the version I remember.
I know a story about humanity's goodness.
This story will offend some people.
It's a bit old. Part of it is true.
There was an immigrant man who came to Spain from an African country. Let's say, from Congo (not really.) Let's say his name was Pedro (not really.) He learned Spanish fast, he was a good worker, gave no problem to anyone (all true.)
Years pass by.
One day, they call him because his visa is expired. He has to go to apply for a renewal. He goes to the embassy. He's told "go to this place, and ask to see this person. Talk to no one else about this."
The place was a Social Security agency, usually filled with all sorts of people asking for different things. The person was a specific functionary, let's say her name was Luisa.
After a few hours in line, Luisa receives Pedro. Pedro tells his story and shows her a few documents. Luisa starts using the computer. She uses the keyboard and the mouse for a while. She says, "No, there's an error here. The database query returns that you have Spanish nationality. I cannot complete the form for renewal. You don't need to renew your visa to continue living here."
Pedro is surprised. He never applied for nationality. He didn't meet the requirements.
He says "are you sure?"
Luisa says "go to this place with this temporary document and ask for a Spanish passport. Ask to see Marta. Talk to one else but her about this."
Pedro was then a Spanish citizen, due to a computer "error."
The real version of this story happened around 2005.
What was the origin of the error? Don't know, don't care. Pedro was a good man, better than many natural citizens. I say there was no error.
Thanks Celia, great story—I grew up with many such stories of quick ingenuity & random kindness from my parents & family making their way from Yugoslavia to Italy & elsewhere as refugees during WWII...
It’s heartwarming to hear your stories about your dad and how much you admired him. It seems you have many of his wonderful qualities.
Your last sentence struck a chord in me. I understand it well. Just know one of the reasons I subscribe to you is because of your authenticity. You expose your vulnerability even when it might be perceived as negative, crazy or “dull”. Your content is rich and valuable Celia, no matter your mood of the day. The mood ring just popped into my head! We need to bring it back. Remember? I used to love to wear mine even if it wasn’t accurate. It was, if anything, a great conversation piece.
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt.
Each day I pray for anyone who was near to or at our nations Kapitol ( this is not a typo ) on J6, each a victim of the entrapment scheme by our own federal government to silence dissent . I compare this to the no action whatsoever against the BLM and Antifa activists called to duty after George Floyd killed himself with a Fentanayl overdose after trying a pass a counterfeit $20.00 bill.
We recognize upside down, complicity, duplicity and obfuscation all supported by the propaganda arm of the progressive Democrats, the mainstream media. There is an effort underway to save America from train platform events but it may be too late. I pray not.
Oh what a beautiful uplifting story. There are many kind people in this world,but I also feel sad to say there are more narcissists than ever. Many come from uncaring environments, and do not know the kindness that this story expresses. I go out each day trying to be kind and appreciative to all who come across my path. As a teacher of many years, my focus was teaching kindness, being grateful, thoughtful manners and that each one of us is loved tremendously by Almighty God. Not one parent complained. If we could all do that, we can make a positive difference in our world.
“Love thy neighbor”. So many do not love themselves in the appropriate way which then creates narcissist.