KUHL LOG
One man's view.
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Here we go again, making political hay out of a tragedy, a tragedy that likely could have been averted. We blame an inanimate object and not the perpetrator, nor the societal change that has spawned an increase in violence and a lack of concern for human life. Having lost a son, I know well the heart break being endured by the families of those killed in this heinous crime. I grieve for them and know that their pain will be ever present. Blaming a non-thinking, non-acting object will not enhance our safety or stop the increase in violence we are seeing. Blaming the gun is the easy way out and fails to address the root cause what is happening in our society. Unfortunately looking at the root causes would make us face the fact that many of us and our government have embraced programs and values that have degraded our respect for human life and brought many in our society to see violence as a means to an end that is acceptable. So lets look at some of the root causes.
In our society we have drifted to a position where one is no longer responsible for his or her behavior. We see this repeatedly as those who commit acts of violence which result in their death are glorified, in spite of the fact that had they not been violent they would still be alive. We see those who violate our laws released back into society without consequences. We even witness criminal behaviors in the highest levels of government as our politicians enrich themselves and their families, using their positions to sell influence for profit, without consequences. I watched as one judge lectured an offender telling her he would not tolerate her illegal behavior, and he fined her two thousand dollars. She was leading a gang selling meth which had been netting thirty thousand dollars a week in sales in a small community. His sentence was not a deterrent and she was back in court within weeks. I have seen federal and local prosecutors refuse to prosecute or enhance prosecution of violent offenders in possession of firearms, and plea bargains which release gun offenders without consequences sufficient enough to have any deterrent affect. In spite of these situations many would have you believe that the solution is to take guns away from everyone, an act which will have little or no affect on those in our society who ignore our laws on a regular basis. To do this would only leave all of us at the mercy of those who have no respect for the law and no mercy for those who do. Could it be that holding one responsible for their criminal acts and removing them from society, might send a message to those inclined to commit violence. In our current environment we are sending the opposite message. If you fight with police, you are not the problem, police are, and if you are hurt or killed then you are the victim and you and your family are enriched because of your violent resistance to the enforcement of the very laws which keep us safe. When a public authority commits crime they should be punished, but that punishment should come after the same due process afforded others in our communities. No one should be tried in the press or the court of public opinion before all the facts are known. When we villainize those who are empowered to protect us, we welcome violence into our communities.
Inanimate objects are not the problem in our culture. Instead a lack of moral values, a lack of accountability, a lack of respect for life and a societal change which has embraced violence, profanity and other uncivilized behaviors has prompted the changes we are seeing today. It is unfortunate that we will likely continue to blame the availability of guns as the problem. Our current debate will continue to focus on gun control. The powers in government, the elite in our society and those who would like to see us disarmed for political or surreptitious reasons will continue to guide the focus of the discussion away from the true reasons for our current problems with societal violence. Until we stop and face the root causes of our current situation, and work to correct them, we are destined to continue down the path taken by cultures before us and continued violence, social decline and eventual destruction lie ahead for us and our children.
Sunday, October 24, 2021
The Race of the Rats
I look across, and see him there, he seems a lot like me.
Dropped in the maze of life, are we, to see who first will be.
I scramble forward, down the hall and quickly turn a right,
But as I sprint, ahead with haste, I find a dreadful sight.
A wall before, impedes my path. I’ve found around this bend,
What every rat here, views with fear, the fatal maze dead end.
I turn and run, retrace my steps, a right, a left and then,
Inside I scream, as up ahead, my path, it’s blocked again.
I spin and sprint, but as I do, my thinking tells me that,
No matter how I finish here, I’ll still remain a rat.
So maybe I should slow my pace. I’d probably reach my goal,
And as I did, I’d see the view and own a rested soul.
But somehow, I can’t pull the plug. I scurry, race and run,
As if inspired by fears unease, beneath my mind’s own gun.
And so I’ll finish life’s long race in harried, haggard form,
Because for rats, it’s just the pace, that seems to be the norm.
P. F. Kuhlmann
16, February 1997
Sunday, August 8, 2021
A Shadow ‘Cross Our Land
Our world was full of light and truth, of joy and children’s smiles,
And then it breached our borders fair with stench, grotesque and vile.
In first our cities tall and strong, where scrapers reached the sky,
A wave of darkness pressed along which would our metal try.
It crept along suburban lanes where families played in peace.
Until their joy was turned to fear, as parent’s trials increased.
It’s moved across the deserts low, passed o’er our mountains grand.
It threatens every girl and boy, each woman, every man.
It turns men’s hearts as cold as stone, makes foes of cherished friends.
As mothers, dads, our youth and mates fall to it’s wicked trends.
It creeps along a solid front, which closes on our time.
Producing naught of helpful gain, promoting filth and crime.
It’s time to stand against it’s wrath. We must press on the fight
If we intend to make a stand as beacons in the night.
If we, at heart, still hold the good, of what our lives stood for,
We must in strength refuse to give when darkness fronts our door.
We must unite our beacons bright and light the shadow’s front.
Reach out to clutch the many souls for whom the shadow hunts.
We must, the saved, their beams enhance and add them to the fray,
So others wandering lost inside can see to find their way.
And though it may appear at times our battle may be lost,
We must with sword, concern, and truth, fight on at any cost.
For if we stop to rest awhile, though weary is our band,
Each moment which we’re from the fight, the shadow crosses land.
The land which we hold near our hearts, for which brave men have died,
Will be entombed in evils black, affecting all inside.
So stand for good with strength and pride in hopes that those who see,
Will join the battle, full of zeal, and fight to keep us free.
Free from the shadow’s drugs and hate, from evil’s gripping hold.
Until as was in early days we stand upright and bold.
Until we push the shadow back and fill our land with light.
Renewed in strength, America, reflecting all that’s right.
P. F. Kuhlmann
23, March 1997
Monday, July 12, 2021
Living In the Interface
The view from outside my window for the past several days has been dull, hazy and gray. Everyone in our family has a dry throat and several have a coughs. For the second year in a row we have been subjected to the smoke being belched into the air by uncontrolled Wildfires burning in the great state of California and this year in Oregon too.
We live in a rural valley where the wind blows regularly and the air was clear. The night sky, once dotted with thousands of stars and a view of the Milky Way is now a nondescript canvas of dark gray. The view is not my concern.
The local news reports “As of noon time on Monday, The Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ) says Davis and Carbon Counties are listed as unhealthy for sensitive groups and Salt Lake, Tooele, Uintah, and Cache Counties have moderate air quality.The DEQ says folks with asthma or heart disease are advised to limit time outside.”Most of the smaller Utah counties, like ours, do not have monitors so UDEQ's warnings rarely list us as problematic. While we have in fact been under a blanket of smoke for weeks, and were in a similar situation last summer. Their warning misses those with emphysema, allergies and other conditions that can be immediately affected by increased particulates in the atmosphere. While I am concerned about those with immediate impacts, that is not my only concern.
The Federal Government owns overly large tracts of land in the west. Those tracts have been mismanaged for decades and even now the BLM and Forest Service would rather spend millions fighting wildfires than invest those funds in mitigating fire in our forests. States like California would rather we spend millions fighting wildland fire, while they gain millions in tax money and handouts, bowing to developers high density plans in unsuitable areas. They are slow to adopt and enforce wildland codes that prohibit construction in the interface, or enforce codes which require adequate safe space between the wildlands and buildings, or adopt and enforce building set backs to limit fire spread between structures. The result each year is hundreds of homes being burned to the ground. Yes
we are in a drought. I have lived in drought conditions more often
than not since I moved west. During times of drought wildland
mitigation becomes even more urgent. In our area it is not uncommon
to see prescribed burns as a means of managing wildfire. These may
work to an extent, but at what price for those forced to endure the
multiple days of smoky skies that attend such activity ? There are
other ways.
We need a study, conducted by someone other than, and not funded by, our government. How much particulate and CO2 are put in the air by our uncontrolled forest burns ? How much does it contribute to man made global warming ? How safe are our children living under the gray cloud of Federal Forest mismanagement ? What are the likely long term results of exposing western children to the volumes of smoke being generated each year ? Without answers the future of our western children and their families remains in doubt.
Sunday, March 7, 2021
A rich man stood atop a hill
And looked across his land,
He sat inside his mansion grand
And judged all at his hand.
For all his earthly wants and needs
Were more than satisfied,
Except he had no family here,
No friends, no kids, no bride.
Well if you did compare my wealth
With all he could display,
I think that from a worldly view
You’d find to your dismay,
That I could not produce the total
Cash or land or jewels,
To match the many valued things
o’er which the rich man rules.
But I don’t measure what I have
By standards set by men.
And I would not trade mine for his
Or even his times ten.
‘Cause I have comforts in this life
Which can’t be bought or sold,
They’re treasures which I’ll take from earth
And will forever hold.
They are my loving parents
and the family I have known,
The wife who warms me night and day
And children small and grown.
The memories of times I’ve had,
There’s no way you can tell,
Just how much They’ve enriched my soul
Their warmth you can not quell.
The many blessings I’ve received
In life I can not count.
There’s no way with earths worldly goods
Their value you’ll surmount.
I can’t express my thanks enough
To God high up above,
For all the spirits sent on earth
That share with me their love.
So though he may have millions
With his jewels, his land and gold
I don’t think I would trade him, not
For all his wealth untold.
For when my time is over
And I answer to God’s call,
I know I’ll find that here on earth
I’m richest of them all.
P. F. Kuhlmann
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
My Prayer
The wisdom to discern my path is not all that I ask,
let strength of purpose lead me on 'till I complete my task.
Help me to see another's needs, to aid each time I can,
to learn to question only deeds and not condemn the man.
Suppress my tongue, alert my ears another's song to hear.
Teach me to lead with patience long and not compel with fear.
If men offend me by their acts, help me their good to see,
so if in turn I make mistakes, they'll suffer long with me.
I pray Dear Lord, I'll live content until this battle's done.
Then I and those I knew in life would join Thee and Thy Son.