Christmas 2010

Dear Sis~

Christmas is here, a reminder of how quickly another year has fled.  As is my Christmas Day habit, I devote a few hours to meditation, reflecting on life's deeper meaning, pondering those enigmatic questions posed by the universe.  In the potent silence of a death row cell you have a lot more opportunity - not to mention incentive - than the average bear to indulge in such contemplation...
Yesterday I once again watched It's a Wonderful Life, with Jimmy Stewart (do you remember how we used to watch this on TV as kids, a half century ago?) It has a reputation for being hokey, a trite, corn pone film designed to shamelessly tug the heartstrings (which it does) ,but it's really a great story, firmly rooted in sound metaphysical principles, with a message grounded in universal truths.  It's withstood the decades well and if you suspend any cynicism, it's just plain good entertainment. Although it's now considered a holiday classic, this film was initially a commercial flop, the subject of much ridicule...
Our new governor, Rick Scott, gets sworn in next week.  His position on the death penalty is unknown to me, despite my efforts to uncover it.  During the entire campaign, I never heard any of the candidates even mention capital punishment.  The death penalty has lost some luster as the public has become increasingly aware of the substantial  number of exonerations - innocent men walking off death row - mostly due to postconvition DNA testing.  So, politicians just don't get the mileage from this issue that they used to be able to dependably rely upon.  Although Scott is a conservative Republican, he's never been a politician before; he's a career businessman who brings his own perspective to the table.  And, having spent $73 million of his own money to get elected, he is not beholden to anyone.  The optimist in me hopes he'll surprise me and be open to dismantling the machinery of death.  Just wishing!
Love & Peace,
Bill