The New Silent Minority.

So, the vitriol of this post-election is starting to quiet just a bit. I’m going take this moment to express a thought. The stats coming from the real vote are showing that it wasn’t the white vote that put Trump over the top, it was the minority vote. Trump received a lesser white vote than Romney. This is the Black and Hispanic vote, primarily. Where did these votes come from? And why were they not considered by anyone?

Traditionally these votes weren’t cast. They weren’t cast out to the the fear of being chastised by their peers. They were expected to stand in line and heed the elites. Oddly enough, this should have been expected. As an example, in ’08, the conservative black vote in California was the difference for voting in a State Constitutional amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman. There is no doubting the fact it was the conservative black vote that put this proposition into law. The fact that this was the largest minority turn-out ever and having it overturned and thrown back at them as a disgraceful action, only added to the minority frustration.

This turn of events, and others, seems to have brought to light for many conservative minorities that this expected behavior was upon them. And they felt the weight of this newly realized expectation. They again came out, still in the shadows, to vote their conscience and their faith, not their race. They came out and voted against the status quo.

Where this trend goes from here is an unknown. These are indeed uncharted waters we/they are exploring. It will be interesting to watch this new silent conservative minority develop. If it develops at all. Perhaps a new effort will be made bring these voters back into line. Perhaps, it’s too late for this type of action. The minority vote has been considered a “giving” by the Democrats for some time. It is conceivable there was enough time, for some, to breathe the air of a new freedom.

I believe this is a lesson re-learned. Any group of people that perceives themselves to be suppressed, will eventually revolt against the elite class, their perceived suppressors. Conservatives have increasingly felt as if they have been chastised into a corner. And it appears to be oozing out in some very unusual places. The most dangerous thing to any elitist class, is a free thinker.

Certainly, this new President will have an impact on what is to follow, at least in this respect. If he can truly bring forth a message of “WE” instead of “division”, we could be in for some very interesting future elections. The predictability of the race vote could be gone forever. And I kind of like the sound of that.

May our diversity always be a blessing.

by David E. Gonzales

The Root of God

You do not have to believe in God to follow God or to do God’s work. The root of doing the things of God are kindness and charity. If you are being kind to those around you, whether you like them or not, you are following the call of the Holy Spirit. If you are giving to those less fortunate than yourself, either with a monetary donation or with your personal time and talent, then you are following the teaching of God and Church. Doing something good, is in part, the call of God.

When you boil it all down and reduce it to a concentrated teaching/philosophy, God wants us to reach out to each other with kindness and charity. If it’s not good, then it’s not of God. Goodness is understanding the beliefs of another, and not burning their books. Good is understanding the

humanity of another, and not condemning them, and certainly not harming them, because of their lifestyle choice. How a person dresses is as much a cultural standard as it is a practical necessity. Their clothing choices may tell you something about the person, but it does not give you reason to judge or denounce them.

We understand that not all people are good people, and that forces us to be aware of our surroundings. We usually extend to most people some degree of trust at the outset. And most people will either build or dispose of that trust rather quickly. Their “good” or “wickedness” will be fairly easy to see, especially if you listen carefully to what they are saying. As I’ve talked about in previous journal entries.

Usually we make conscience decisions. We decide what we will believe based on any number of things. Sometimes these decisions are firm, and sometimes they are more haphazard in nature. We also make subconscious decisions. These decisions are based increasingly on an inner awareness. That “gut” feeling we get on the occasion. That “right” thing to do, even if you really don’t know why. In either case I believe this is the Holy Spirit that moves us to do the “right” thing.

The “right thing” centers on kindness and charity. This is the root of God. This what the concentrated teaching of God is. Kindness and charity are two basic moral institutions that most have instilled in us from a young age. Simply by practicing kindness and charity you are following the call of God, whether you know it or not, as guided by the Holy Spirit.

Let us all be guided into kindness and charity.

by David E. Gonzales

Control, It's all about you.

There's only one thing you can control, and that is yourself. Once you understand that concept, you will be much more at peace in and with the world around you. Life is perceived as a peripheral experience; our emotions make life a personal experience. By understanding ourselves and learning to work with our natural emotions, we can and do become increasingly understanding and empathetic to the people and events around us. We are better able to handle ourselves within situations with a sense of peace by knowing we are in control of ourselves. And by allowing others to be themselves, it becomes easier to identify what kind of person they really are.

To listen to someone speak, without your personal filters glazing over their words, will allow anyone to see the reality the speaker lives in. Our preconceived ideas of another person will never even show up. We can take them as they present themselves. Listening without prejudice, is the dominant element.

The act of listening without thinking about a response is the prejudice to which referring to. Listening to the words spoken and thinking about the meaning of those words, both individually and as a whole, will help you understand the person speaking and the subject being addressed.

Many of us are more interested in responding than comprehending to what has been said. It is because of this, many of us miss the essence of the subject or idea being expressed. As we teach ourselves to listen we will also learn how to better express our personal ideas on any subject. Listening (and reading) are two of the best ways we can learn to express ourselves in a superior fashion. But listening is the only way to really learn about the person, any person.

Understanding a person will help you decide how you wish to proceed. Or if you want to proceed at all. You only have control over one thing, you. Make your decisions with all the tools you have; the ear being one of the most powerful.

Peace be with you always.

by David E. Gonzales

I Express-

I write to express my feelings, thoughts, faith. I write as a matter of need, not want. I don’t write to become a master of the “like” button. I write to help myself and I hope to help others in my expressions. I believe that writing is one of the better ways to help me understand life. The true reality of my perceptions that surround me. It is through writing that I help to heal my damaged ego. It is through writing that I heal emotionally and psychologically, this is where I stabilize my mental state.

Writing isn’t for everyone. But for those who do write, even a little, it can be a big piece of keeping oneself in state of “being happy.” Being happy, getting happy, desiring to be happy, staying happy, for some its easy, for other it takes a little more effort.

Perhaps effort is really the key here. For nothing happens if you don’t try. Without putting yourself forth, nothing is going to happen. It’s a daily exercise of communicating with others and yourself. Understanding yourself is absolutely necessary to living in harmony with others. Writing is a wonderful way of clearing out the clutter and focusing your thoughts into complete lucidity.

This is not a one step or one day process. It’s also not an agonizing one. Or at least it shouldn’t be. And while writing down one’s personal thoughts isn’t easy, clarity can be shocking, responding to yourself can be most rewarding.

The response you have to your writings can and should be gaged on how positive the effects will be. And the effects should be, must be, positive in nature. Our faith, our relationship with God is, as is, our relationship with each other. This must always be positive! Our relationship with our faith and our relationship with everyone in our lives should be one and the same. If God is love, (expressed as charity), then our relationships should reflect that ideal as much as possible. Writing can bring to light the imbalance in our lives.

As we increase the balance in our lives, that “happy” feeling becomes increasingly consistent. Our personal lives and faith should and need to be, as much as possible, in harmony with each other. Writing allows me an outlet for my thoughts to be expressed in an ever clarifying manner. I’ve only been writing for a few years now, but I find writing an increasingly valuable tool in my life. Note: Not all my thoughts are published.

Writing is self-care. It is necessary to take care of yourself in order to care for others. You must be good to yourself in order to be good to others in a consistent manner. Otherwise you may find yourself in a state of emotional flux. Self-care is a necessary element in life. Everyone I know has this element in their lives.  

I hope that this expression, written from the heart, will help you in attaining balance you are looking for.

by David E. Gonzales

The Gift of Mortality

If we were all immortal, then there would be no reason to live. There would be no one to take care for. There would be no one to nourish. There would be no births, no deaths, no babies, no aged and no disease. There would be no one; new. We would be as we are. We would have no desire to learn, for we would know all things necessary to know.

Life would not be worth living. Oh, sure, there would still be buildings to build and re-build, clothing to make, food to grow. But those things would simply be the status quo. Impressing your neighbors would be a moot point. All things that could be done would already have been done.

Truly living is to be engaged. Engaged in life, in people and in creating things new and better. Immortality takes away any incentive to engage anything. This make our mortality a gift. The gift of desire. To be engaged. To give birth, to aid the aged, and the inflicted. Even grief, as painful as it is, is a gift. For we can’t grieve without first having loved. And love [charity] is our greatest calling. Charity is what brings us the most gratification.

Charity is born from our mortality. Charity houses and clothes the poor and feeds the hungry. Charity brings light to injustice and justice to the most vulnerable. Our mortality brings out our humanity in us. Our mortality is a gift, not a scourge, from God. For without our mortality, complacency would be the rule. Immortality would allow us to live forever, but our mortality allows us to be alive!

May you always be alive in life!

David E. Gonzales

Dad (Words of Remembrance)

Dad. As kids that’s all we really called dad, just dad. No fancy or clever nicknames. Dad, born April 1st, 1930, had an interesting sense of humor. Perhaps being born on April Fool’s Day had something to do with it? Or perhaps it was being born the seventh of ten children. Then again it could have been growing up with six sisters. But for me, I have to think it was more in line with having only one bathroom to share with the entire family. And this, with only cold water. I think this helped develop his unique sense of humor. And more often than not, it had just a little sarcasm built into the punch line.

            There’re a couple of little ditties that dad would recite with some regularity. One was based on food. The verse he would sing, reads like this:

“There’s Spam and wham and deviled ham,
And somethin' new called Zoom
Just take it home and heat it to the temperature of the room
And you can bake it, flake it, Shake it, make it, take it,

Any way you choose.
And that's the situation, when you got those, Duration Blues”

I had always thought this was some cute ditty dad had learned as a youth and just never forgot. Then about a year or so ago I did a search and found out it was a song from WWII. This song was really about rationing. Rationing was of course, a reality in his day, and so it makes sense that this would stick with him. But to me it’s more about his sense of humor, and his notion of life.

            The second ditty is a little more obscure. This one is about attitude. And it goes like this:

Your troubles will vanish like a bubble,

If you only take the trouble, just to smile.

Dad’s sense humor and his sense of life were uniquely inter-tangled. A positive attitude can make all the difference in the world.

            Dad was also a builder. Dad built a business, he built the building for the business. Dad built a second building so he could sell the business and retire. He tiled the walkway leading up to the house. Dad laid the tiles throughout the downstairs of the house. He, along with mom and I, installed the wood flooring upstairs and the stair case. Dad built the basin for the fountain. He laid the block for the planters, and designed the landscaping. And of course dad designed and built the St. Francis mission on the side of house. He then proudly named it, Mission impossible.

Dad was dad, a unique personality. He had a glow about him, a glow that made you feel like he knew something you didn’t. Dad was a provider. Work hard, play hard, play for fun, play to win, because there’s no fun in losing. Do it right the first time, because it takes even longer to do it twice. No one is going to give you anything, you have to earn it.

Goodbye dad 

Dad, family man. Dedicated and loving husband to mom for 62 years, father of three, grandfather to six.

I’ve tried to express not the physical exploits of dad, but instead the essence of dad. Each of us has a different idea or feel of what constitutes dad. Today we say goodbye to the physical dad. And I believe that God has lovingly accepted dad’s soul in to his kingdom. But the essence of dad will be with us as long as we tell our stories, and remember that “feel” that we had around, dad.

Thank you so much for being here this morning. You are all greatly appreciated, and loved.

David E. Gonzales, son