Who’s next?
Peter Flierl
First, they came for Terri, determined to extinguish her life. Courts serve as prosecutor, jury and execu-tioner ignoring evidence and getting on with their march toward euthanasia, disposal of any life not deemed necessary, or perhaps an inconvenience.
Perhaps Terri is not the first. Since 1973, our nine black robes have found a “rationale” to murder babies, millions every year. While others take extraordinary measures to save, nurture and ensure long life to the most fragile of infants, preemies, others murder babies a breath away from life at the end of their nine month gestation period. That they are a living human being, one of God’s miraculous creations, is no longer a question. It is real. It is visible.
In the infamous Dred Scott decision, the nine black robes ruled that African-Americans were not human beings, that instead they were property, chattel, devoid of humanity. Sounds like our not-yet-born babies today. Not human. Not deserving protection. Courts permitting and ordering the execution of children, of our vibrant future, of our weakest and most defenseless.
In Nazi Germany, courts supported the rush to extermination , the final solution, for European Jews who were deemed to be less than human. Again, if it is not human, we can be free of guilt? Is this what we are to take home from the Schivo case.
Can the courts in their “hearings” not review any evidence and continue the march to execution. Were we to execute a murderer on death row, an individual who has lost his right to life, in the same manner as Terri, it would be ruled cruel and unusual punishment. We would not do this to a condemned man or woman, nor would we do to it to our favorite dog or cat.
It is appalling to see a man with a financial interest in her death being the sole determinant of whether or not Terri is to live or die. We have started down the slippery slope, where a “major” news outlet like ABC seeks out the Doctor of Death Jack Kervorkian to comment on the case. After innocent babies and equally innocent adults like Terri, who’s next?
Perhaps everyone over 80 or 85 or 90 should be volunteered for death by starvation? Or do we really need sweet retarded adults or children? Are they a blessing or a curse? Cerebral Palsy can be nasty. Shall we put them out of their misery? Instead of chemotherapy for “hopeless” cancer patients, shall we just starve then to death? Save time and money?
Who’s next? First, they came for the Jews. Then, they came for our babies. Then, they came for Terri. Who’s next?
3/27/05
Monday, March 28, 2005
Writer, Commentator, Entrepreneur
Peter J. Flierl, MSW, the co-founder of HealthGain, a wellness company devoted to prevention and alternative medicine, and FBT Worldwide, a private franchise combining the power of the high tech internet and high touch personal coaching. He is a freelance writer and the author of Prayer, Laughter & Broccoli, a survival guide for husbands soon to be translated into Zulu for South African breast cancer patients and their husbands. His next book, Tithe, America, Tithe will be released by Grindstone Press in late 2005.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Whither Hope?
Whither Hope?
Peter J. Flierl, M.S.W.
Whenever participating in a health fair, business expo or trade show, one of the greatest rewards beyond new business and touching lives is the opportunity to let your hair down and just talk to folks. A recent foray into the mid-Hudson Valley at the Poughkeepsie Mall was a great day for us, e.g., new business for our wellness company, trading perspectives with other professionals, sharing 911 experiences with American Red Cross staff and volunteers. It was also a disheartening and disturbing glimpse into the dark side, meeting people who have given up, have no hope for changing or improv-ing their lives, and are just existing and waiting to die.
The most depressing conversation early of the day was with a young man, about 18 or 19, who literally has no hope, no expectation of being able to do better, or to change his future. He dropped out of school after ninth grade. Had a brief incarceration after a minor trouble. He now works at a local Stop & Shop and believes that is where he will work until he dies. He sincerely believes he is incapable of doing anything to change his lot in life. We talked. I proffered some thoughts and examples of success, such as an associate who went from car wash “manager” with a less than high school education to successful businessman. I suggested Carl get a copy of The Magic of Thinking Big, read it cover to cover, and if he didn’t get anything from it, I would buy it back from him. He said he would do so. Here’s hoping!
My second lost soul was at the opposite end of the spectrum: 54 instead of 18 or 19, a marvelous conversationalist. She is a Mom three times over and a Grandmother to five. Now, those are blessings and she knows it. She is also living hand to mouth after working for 30-35 years and cannot see over the top of her rut. She is in the trenches, afraid to go “over the top” and do battle, unable to let go of the proverbial nut in a bottle. She works pay check to pay check knowing deep in her soul that there must be a “better way.”
It causes us to wonder how it is that so many Americans living in the “shining city on the hill” have lost the American Dream. We do not hear about Horatio Alger and rags to riches. Both of my parents had an avocation, education, teaching children and adults. Howard Flierl turned down a $10,000 a year sales job after World War II to pursue his dream of a doctorate in geography at Syracuse University and continuing his teaching career. He taught at what was then Albany State Teachers College, the State University of New York at Albany today, and taught there for 38 years until his retirement. Nina Flierl was a remedial reading specialist, first at Albany Academy for girls where I attended nursery school (don’t ask or laugh) and then for 30+ years in six elementary schools in he Bethlehem Central School District (not dissimilar to Greenwich), plus teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at Russel Sage, serving on community boards, and earning her Masters at age 40.
The example for doing what is your passion, following your dream, was set from my birth. What was not seen by me or suggested by either Howard or Nina was being in business to pay for the luxury of a modestly paying dream. They changed their lives and fortune, as well as those of my older brother, Howard, and my younger sister, Margaret, when they took a roll of the dice, gambled all of the money they did not have, and opened a highly successful summer reading school on Grindstone Neck in Winter Harbor, Maine. They also changed the lives of hundreds of teenagers, who spent six weeks experiencing academic success, participating in a weekly chore day, developing a sense of personal responsibility, reading for fun daily, and learning the skills required to do well both academically and in life.
I also missed the message in my first year out of graduate school in 1972. I had a “good boss,” which for me today in hindsight is an oxymoron. His name was Jack Edwards. We were colleagues and good friends. We worked together for the State of Louisiana on a project to upgrade the entire emergency medical services system statewide from the ambulances (often hearses, nice conflict of interest) and personnel in the field to the emergency rooms of every hospital in that unique, intriguing state. After some time working with me, Jack was exhorting me to get another degree, preferably an MBA, at “least” an MPH. What he never said, despite being among the best mentors I ever had, was start a business, any business, to be my own boss, to create my own life and lifestyle on my terms, not those of an employer. Hindsight is 20/20. Jack and I often drive together and frequently stopped at the successful laundry and dry cleaning business he and his wife, Fran, owned and managed in Baton Rouge. I did not see or understand the model he was setting, nor did he have the insight to suggest it.
Years later, I finally saw the light and began like my parents to freelance and develop a business of my own. Like them, I have a business that is in part my passion, but it is also lifestyle, security, freedom, choices, and so much more. And I found men and women who are successful in their own businesses, who also apply the principles of success in all aspects of their lives, whether in their marriages, or how they raise their children.
Despite the Blue states, and despite Democrats wanting to take my money and yours to give away to someone else, to have us be a socialist country, we are the greatest capitalist country in the world and the greatest democracy in the world. People stream across our borders. They come here, not to Viet Nam, not to North Korea, not to China, not to Cuba. They do not come for Social Security. They do not come for “benefits” provided by an employer at the cost of a living wage. They come here to open a business and build it. Guess what? They do so, every day, day in and day out. It is time to reclaim the shining city on a hill. It is time to reclaim the American Dream by those of us who have been hers for so many generations. We have forgotten the core values. Catch the magic of a dream and faith, faith in yourself and faith in the future.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter J. Flierl, MSW, the co-founder of HealthGain, a wellness company devoted to prevention and alternative medicine, and FBT Worldwide, a private franchise combining the power of the high tech internet and high touch personal coaching. He is a freelance writer and the author of Prayer, Laughter & Broccoli, a survival guide for husbands soon to be translated into Zulu for South African breast cancer patients and their husbands. His next book, Tithe, America will be released by Grindstone Press in 2005.
Peter J. Flierl, M.S.W.
Whenever participating in a health fair, business expo or trade show, one of the greatest rewards beyond new business and touching lives is the opportunity to let your hair down and just talk to folks. A recent foray into the mid-Hudson Valley at the Poughkeepsie Mall was a great day for us, e.g., new business for our wellness company, trading perspectives with other professionals, sharing 911 experiences with American Red Cross staff and volunteers. It was also a disheartening and disturbing glimpse into the dark side, meeting people who have given up, have no hope for changing or improv-ing their lives, and are just existing and waiting to die.
The most depressing conversation early of the day was with a young man, about 18 or 19, who literally has no hope, no expectation of being able to do better, or to change his future. He dropped out of school after ninth grade. Had a brief incarceration after a minor trouble. He now works at a local Stop & Shop and believes that is where he will work until he dies. He sincerely believes he is incapable of doing anything to change his lot in life. We talked. I proffered some thoughts and examples of success, such as an associate who went from car wash “manager” with a less than high school education to successful businessman. I suggested Carl get a copy of The Magic of Thinking Big, read it cover to cover, and if he didn’t get anything from it, I would buy it back from him. He said he would do so. Here’s hoping!
My second lost soul was at the opposite end of the spectrum: 54 instead of 18 or 19, a marvelous conversationalist. She is a Mom three times over and a Grandmother to five. Now, those are blessings and she knows it. She is also living hand to mouth after working for 30-35 years and cannot see over the top of her rut. She is in the trenches, afraid to go “over the top” and do battle, unable to let go of the proverbial nut in a bottle. She works pay check to pay check knowing deep in her soul that there must be a “better way.”
It causes us to wonder how it is that so many Americans living in the “shining city on the hill” have lost the American Dream. We do not hear about Horatio Alger and rags to riches. Both of my parents had an avocation, education, teaching children and adults. Howard Flierl turned down a $10,000 a year sales job after World War II to pursue his dream of a doctorate in geography at Syracuse University and continuing his teaching career. He taught at what was then Albany State Teachers College, the State University of New York at Albany today, and taught there for 38 years until his retirement. Nina Flierl was a remedial reading specialist, first at Albany Academy for girls where I attended nursery school (don’t ask or laugh) and then for 30+ years in six elementary schools in he Bethlehem Central School District (not dissimilar to Greenwich), plus teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at Russel Sage, serving on community boards, and earning her Masters at age 40.
The example for doing what is your passion, following your dream, was set from my birth. What was not seen by me or suggested by either Howard or Nina was being in business to pay for the luxury of a modestly paying dream. They changed their lives and fortune, as well as those of my older brother, Howard, and my younger sister, Margaret, when they took a roll of the dice, gambled all of the money they did not have, and opened a highly successful summer reading school on Grindstone Neck in Winter Harbor, Maine. They also changed the lives of hundreds of teenagers, who spent six weeks experiencing academic success, participating in a weekly chore day, developing a sense of personal responsibility, reading for fun daily, and learning the skills required to do well both academically and in life.
I also missed the message in my first year out of graduate school in 1972. I had a “good boss,” which for me today in hindsight is an oxymoron. His name was Jack Edwards. We were colleagues and good friends. We worked together for the State of Louisiana on a project to upgrade the entire emergency medical services system statewide from the ambulances (often hearses, nice conflict of interest) and personnel in the field to the emergency rooms of every hospital in that unique, intriguing state. After some time working with me, Jack was exhorting me to get another degree, preferably an MBA, at “least” an MPH. What he never said, despite being among the best mentors I ever had, was start a business, any business, to be my own boss, to create my own life and lifestyle on my terms, not those of an employer. Hindsight is 20/20. Jack and I often drive together and frequently stopped at the successful laundry and dry cleaning business he and his wife, Fran, owned and managed in Baton Rouge. I did not see or understand the model he was setting, nor did he have the insight to suggest it.
Years later, I finally saw the light and began like my parents to freelance and develop a business of my own. Like them, I have a business that is in part my passion, but it is also lifestyle, security, freedom, choices, and so much more. And I found men and women who are successful in their own businesses, who also apply the principles of success in all aspects of their lives, whether in their marriages, or how they raise their children.
Despite the Blue states, and despite Democrats wanting to take my money and yours to give away to someone else, to have us be a socialist country, we are the greatest capitalist country in the world and the greatest democracy in the world. People stream across our borders. They come here, not to Viet Nam, not to North Korea, not to China, not to Cuba. They do not come for Social Security. They do not come for “benefits” provided by an employer at the cost of a living wage. They come here to open a business and build it. Guess what? They do so, every day, day in and day out. It is time to reclaim the shining city on a hill. It is time to reclaim the American Dream by those of us who have been hers for so many generations. We have forgotten the core values. Catch the magic of a dream and faith, faith in yourself and faith in the future.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter J. Flierl, MSW, the co-founder of HealthGain, a wellness company devoted to prevention and alternative medicine, and FBT Worldwide, a private franchise combining the power of the high tech internet and high touch personal coaching. He is a freelance writer and the author of Prayer, Laughter & Broccoli, a survival guide for husbands soon to be translated into Zulu for South African breast cancer patients and their husbands. His next book, Tithe, America will be released by Grindstone Press in 2005.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Peter J. Flierl
Peter J. Flierl, M.S.W.
Peter J. Flierl, MSW is the author of Prayer, Laughter & Broccoli: Being There When Your Wife Has Breast Cancer published by Witty Fools Productions in Los Angeles. Peter’s wife, Shirley, in 1982 found herself at the leading edge of the trend toward younger women being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Together, they faced her Stage 3, aggressive cancer with extensive lymph node involvement. She beat the odds and is thriving today, over 21 years later.
Prayer, Laughter & Broccoli is a survival guide for other husbands of women with breast cancer, as well as their families and the women themselves. Peter offers insights and wisdom on topics ranging from sexuality and being there to cravings, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Peter is a graduate of Hobart College with a B.A. in English and received his M.S.W. in Clinical Social Work from Louisiana State University. He has over 30 years experience in community health promotion and wellness services, including breast self exam programs for teens and women, free mammography services and breast health education. He is founder and President of HealthGain, a business devoted to building healthy people and healthy organizations, and co-founded with Shirley, FBT Worldwide, a private franchising company.
To contact Peter Flierl, please call 203-273-5168 or 877-733-0528 or e-mail flierlp@bww.com
Peter J. Flierl, MSW is the author of Prayer, Laughter & Broccoli: Being There When Your Wife Has Breast Cancer published by Witty Fools Productions in Los Angeles. Peter’s wife, Shirley, in 1982 found herself at the leading edge of the trend toward younger women being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Together, they faced her Stage 3, aggressive cancer with extensive lymph node involvement. She beat the odds and is thriving today, over 21 years later.
Prayer, Laughter & Broccoli is a survival guide for other husbands of women with breast cancer, as well as their families and the women themselves. Peter offers insights and wisdom on topics ranging from sexuality and being there to cravings, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Peter is a graduate of Hobart College with a B.A. in English and received his M.S.W. in Clinical Social Work from Louisiana State University. He has over 30 years experience in community health promotion and wellness services, including breast self exam programs for teens and women, free mammography services and breast health education. He is founder and President of HealthGain, a business devoted to building healthy people and healthy organizations, and co-founded with Shirley, FBT Worldwide, a private franchising company.
Marketing & Communications
Fundraising: Annual & Capital Campaigns, Special Events, Planned Giving
Private Franchising: North America & International
Alcoholism & Wellness Counseling - Talk Therapy
To contact Peter Flierl, please call 203-273-5168 or 877-733-0528 or e-mail flierlp@bww.com
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
