Hearing the Echo of their Voices NOW

In a film by German Lutz Becker ,called Double - Headed Eagle, a collection of newsreel footage tells it's own story of the rise of fanaticism in Germany, from 1918 to the 1933 beginnings of World War II. It was the birth of it all, you might say, the growth of Nazi power and the framework of the Third Reich.

" The eagle represents sovereignty, and the double heads represent the double stamp of approval, both by man AND god.

Hitler was part of Germany's destruction during WWI, and saw a fiercely proud nation morally destroyed.  Germany had Her spirit broken after the war.

He began his rise to power and one of the great things he did was rebuild the sense of "civil religion" where people had faith in the nation again.  That was one of the heads (the approval of man).

His total control of the emotional feeling of the country combined with the total stamping out of all religious activity gave him the right to use the second head on his eagle for his crest.

Hence, he claimed the double headed eagle." by Psychic Spy 2005

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=107371 

 A flag waving on Main Street in our town yesterday afternoon, cast a shadow onto a brick wall behind it. Driving by in our Tahoe, I was sitting in the passenger seat, enjoying the late afternoon sun.

I had just looked to the right as the flag and shadow suddenly came into view,  I was quite taken with it. I thought the shadow looked like a flame. Later I recalled that it was not unlike the flame on the cross found as the trademark of the Methodist church these days.

So the flag against the wall, was like a flame.  Was it strange that it immediately seemed to be a flag which could break down a wall of barriers. A flame of change?

A definition of a barrier can be different for all people. In my thoughts it was various barriers; against women, minorities and those not as privileged as the  one percent. It was my view of the world, it was more and more about things that disturbed me, that the flame would burn through the barriers, the brick walls, the things which blocked others out.

My daughter, the driver, wondered what I furiously wrote down and we had a discussion about it. One flag which burns down barriers might be also a flag which is building barriers because in the multicultural or world view there are many kinds of ways to become nationalistic, fanatical and dangerous to those who are different.

So the flames were good or bad depending on your perspective, the wall coming down perhaps good or bad, but how is it perceived? Through the influence of circumstance, of leadership, of propaganda and expectation, also the walls come down. There are always flames involved. Flames of passion, of justice, of danger, of hatred, making a hell for those who want to live just in the status quo. The status quo changes. It swings too, from good at times, through good and into evil. Just ask the Germans.

My mind carried me back to the brief clip of the Double-Headed Eagle; I had seen and I heard them. I heard the people who shouted for the flames of changes, I heard them chant as the brick wall of civilized Germany was torn down to somehow make way for a new Germany. I heard their voices, their passion, they believed.

I can hear them now, here. I worry about them, what they are saying, what they are doing. I know they want change, but I don't believe they are ready for the kind of change that is coming.

Flames burn people, brick walls crush them. Stewardship of passion is difficult if stirred by propaganda to hideous extreme, leadership corrupted by greed and unregulated power makes for chaos. Power corrupted is easily missed in it's process to flames. 

What did I see? I saw change. 

 From the website of the United Methodist Church

History and Significance

"The history and significance of the Cross and Flame emblem are as rich and diverse as The United Methodist Church. The insignia's birth quickly followed the union of two denominations in 1968: The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

Following more than two dozen conceptualizations, a traditional symbol—the cross—was linked with a single flame with dual tongues of fire. The resulting insignia is rich in meaning. It relates The United Methodist church to God through Christ (cross) and the Holy Spirit (flame). The flame is a reminder of Pentecost when witnesses were unified by the power of the Holy Spirit and saw "tongues, as of fire" (Acts 2:3).

The elements of the emblem also remind us of a transforming moment in the life of Methodism's founder, John Wesley, when he sensed God's presence and felt his heart "strangely warmed." The two tongues of a single flame may also be understood to represent the union of two denominations.

The insignia, one with lettering and one without, was formally adopted by the General Conference in 1968 and registered in 1971 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Since 1996, the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) of The United Methodist church has supervised the emblem's use."

 http://www.fandor.com/films/double_headed_eagle

 The Double Headed Eagle: Hitler's Rise to Power 1918-1933 presents a unique and disturbing look at the rise of the Nazi party. The documentary, directed by Lutz Becker, attempts to remain as objective as possible, serving as a neutral observer of the years 1918 through 1933 in Germany. Via newsreel footage and clips of features from the era, the film offers a kaleidoscopic view of the many elements that fueled the rise of the Socialist Nationalist Party, including post-WWI poverty. Hitler occupies a central place in the documentary. ~ Betsy Boyd, Rovi

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/the-double-headed-eagle-hitler-s-rise-to-power-1918-1933#ixzz1yfro0iAn

  http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=3206

Copyright 2012 by SheilaTGTG55 

On Manners

If you were born at a certain time in the fifties, chances are you might have grown up with some manners. Not everyone, but most people did teach their children some manners. The fifties boom time was an opportunity for families to grow and neighborhoods to multiply. I was the child of older parents, who were born in the twenties. Popping out in the mid-fifties as I did, I was the youngest in the family. I went to grade school in the sixties and high school in the early seventies. I was able to see the difference even in high school between the kids of older parents and the kids of younger parents. It was not that they were date stamped on their foreheads or anything, but literally, all kinds of their behavior reflected how they were raised.

There were differences. In certain circles manners were everything. I can remember being told what to do and how to act. I also remember there were such things as Charm Schools for girls, debutante dances and dress codes. My sister only two years older than myself went to one of those charm schools. She also was presented at a ball. We were not allowed to wear jeans to school in high school and we wore uniforms at our grade school.

I am certain that as children we were annoying. My parents had two older children and there was a ten year difference between my oldest sister and myself. The best medicine for annoying children seemed to be manners. We were taught things like, "Don’t interrupt". We were informed on what not to say, such as, "uh huh", "like", "you know", and swear words.

We were taught not to eat in front of other people without sharing. We were taught that when someone was going in to eat after playing outside, we should leave. We were taught not to interrupt meal times by calling people on the phone or appearing at their door. We were taught how to set a table, how to write a thank you note, how to answer the phone, how to answer the door, in other words, how to be polite.

I can still remember being told not to discuss politics, religion or money with anyone, that all that information was private unless that was the topic of discussion and purposeful. If you had an opinion about any of it, you must share it gracefully and appropriately.

Throughout my life I learned that my manners set me apart from others. It gave me opportunities and experiences that others did not have or could not appreciate. It set me apart in many ways from my peers. I was taught not to pry, not to gossip or spread rumors. I was taught not to dress in tight clothes, to dress appropriately for an occasion and that it was rude to sleep (and snore) during an opera.

I was taught to say thank you, to ask how someone was doing and if someone asked me in turn, not to give a litany of aches and pains, don't drone on with too much information. I was taught not to be late, that promptness reflected courtesy.

I tried to pass all these gems on to my children. If I am unique, it is because I have lived by a code of manners and believed that respect was important. I have appreciated those who were different than myself, who were not a mirror image of myself. I have learned things by being open and in fact, improved my world view, by communicating with many types of people.

So I can confidently say I am not a snob by any means, my manners did not teach that or imply that.

Unfortunately somewhere along these lines, those important lessons have been gravely lost by many of my generation and new generations going forward. We have forfeited many courtesies and graces when we threw manners out the window. I think our politics today is a reflection of some of that. I also think it is a reflection of snobbery and pretentiousness, accompanied strongly by a worship of power and money. Many do not have power, many do not have money, but perhaps if we had all been taught how to speak to each other and how to behave graciously, we would not be discussing some of things we are today in politics and handling more of the people's business.

I sometimes think we are a bunch of pioneers in the old west, with no law and order and great injustices being done, because those with power, money and guns could just get away with it. We had evolved so much as a society since that time, but it seems some of us longed for and glamourized that era to the point that power is the signal that anything goes. Do you remember giving up all your sense of privacy and decorum? Or, really, has it just been stolen from us like so many other things. The hallmarks of our civilized society, our sense of fairness and peace are daily disappearing. Why? 

Teach your children well.

Copyright 2012 by SheilaTGTG55