Lily Pens

Welcome

Hi. Thank you for stopping by.

I am an author who addresses many topics.

Sometimes my writing get a little deep. Sometimes it is light. Always, I hope, it makes you think.

Tucked inside this site will also be pieces of my current novel. It is a dystopian tale, and much of what I write, here, has driven my storyline.

So please stop by often. And bring an open mind.

Murmurs of Discontent

Exploring the history of a culture can reveal so many daunting travesties that can only truly be seen when viewed through the distance of time. Did the people who lived through such events actually understand what was going on around them, or in their fear, did they try to make sense of the craziness? And if they had a chance to change things, would they have had the courage to do so?

We now know how Adolf Hitler gained power by creating an imaginary Germany in the eyes of the world and his own people. His goal was to show the outside world how Germany was thriving and happy, and to make his people believe that he was their savior.

In reality, Hitler propagated lies of affluence as his own people starved. He controlled the minds of the youth so that they willingly turned against their own parents. And he led a multitude of Jews to their deaths with the initial premise of wanting to protect them, and then demonized them so their destruction was palatable to others.

But what happens when a seemingly rational country strays from its path and takes a hard left? When the voices of people turn from uneasy murmurs to questioning whispers that no one believes? When the news is never focused where it should be while the truth is manipulated to reflect a picture that isn’t there? And where chaos directs the eyes away from reality to underscore a manufactured fear?

If an imaginary tree falls in the woods and no one knows, will it still test positive for Covid?

In 2020, as the world was shutting down, I read everything I could about world events. News outlets provided information to navigate a changing world that was getting more frightening every day. President Trump gave daily briefings and the Governor of my State laid out the number of infections and deaths.

I took pictures of empty shelves at the supermarket and wiped down everything before I touched it. Even though I had all the symptoms of the Covid virus while in quarantine, I wore a mask when told and respected the distances between people. I stayed home and willingly changed my life to fit the directions of those in charge.

However, when I suffered a death in my family, not due to the virus, I realized just how much in my life was being lost. Birthdays and holidays were stolen from our family gatherings, and life became less personal and loving.

We had ceased to hug one another, and we guarded the space between us with unspoken fear. And the moments and celebrations we cherished were forever lost to someone who died in quiet isolation. Eventually my family climbed out from behind our walls and embraced one other, and in that moment we were able to touch what made us human.

That was the beginning of my awakening.

In 2021 I noticed how some things didn’t quite add up. I saw the actions of powerful people that contradicted common sense and listened to narratives that were full of holes. Even the fear in the voices of the newscasters sounded stale and manufactured.

The world was becoming a sad and depressing place to be, and for every step forward, something else materialized to move us back in line. I went from feeling protected to feeling controlled and finally to feeling angry.

I’m sure the Jews who were herded into the stifling rail cars to be “relocated” during WWII sensed something was wrong when the doors slammed shut and they were inhumanely crushed together for unending hours. Unfortunately, they had no escape because the guards in charge had guns.

While we don’t have guns to our heads, we do have baseless rules and lies to make us feel defenseless. We have been arrested and denied access to businesses and air travel over manufactured guidelines that are arbitrary and inconsistent. We have been forced to wear masks that do not stop the spread of the Coronavirus, and our gatherings and social distances are dictated with unproven theories.

The government has used a virus to leverage us into regulated compliance, took away our freedoms in the name of health and safety, and closed us in with no end in sight.

To further its control, the government is brainwashing us to take experimental drugs that have not been proven by the Food and Drug Administration to be safe or effective. And now it is discussing our need to carry a vaccine passport to prove we have complied with a mandate that is Unconstitutional.

How many people need to witness an event before it is no longer called a conspiracy? How many people need to rage against the machine before the gears shift?

There are millions of us who do not want to stand in line and be fed the stories of doom and gloom any longer. We are awake and aware of the manipulations.

We believe our freedoms have been won through the blood and sacrifice of the many people who died for this country, and we are not willing to allow a virus to usurp our Constitutional Rights.

We live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. If our house is under attack, we need to identify the intruder to defend our country.

Do we really believe it is a virus that is enslaving us?

Silencing Our Differences

I recently had a "lively' discussion with a relative on Facebook. We each held different ideas on the way people learn, and a few days later she "unfriended" me.

While it was a surprise, I realized the loss was hers. Unopposed, in her mind, she could now validate her side of our conversation. After all, I would no longer be there to offer her any new thoughts on this topic or any other. She had silenced me, so she thought she won.

However, what she lost was the opportunity to expand her thinking and challenge her convictions.

Why is this important?

We live in a society of people who are unique in our beliefs and histories. We travel different paths, relish different memories, and seek different goals. Our common thread is our humanity and our need for one another, for alone we can do nothing.

But for as long as our species has existed, we have struggled to co-exist and accept the uniqueness of those who walk beside us. Whether it be out of pride or fear, we cling to our sameness and shy away from the differences of others. For this reason, communities are founded by people who share something in common, whether it be heritage or values, and groups are strengthened by their principals.

It is our differences, however, that help us survive. The gifts each of us share complement our weaknesses, because without our diversities we would grow imbalanced. We need to hear opposing points of view and look at life through the eyes of someone else. We need to learn from the mistakes of others and understand why their direction failed. And most importantly, we must remember what is uncomfortable from our past and be determined not to repeat it.

Now, we are witnessing the drastic silencing of many voices. Some have justified this tactic as a way to eliminate "dangerous" thoughts. In truth, these thoughts present opposing points of view and information contrary to the narrative of the oligarchy in charge. These thoughts are not dangerous, they are different, and should be debated and discussed, not dismissed.

The silencing of voices, no matter who they represent, is unfair to all of us. We need to support, not cancel each other. We are a nation of people from all walks of life, and as much as our differences need to be addressed, so do our thoughts and ideas. Once we lose our freedom of speech, we lose everything.

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