I want to put my money where my mouth is, rather than put my mouth on Facebook or in front of a TV screen watching angry people shout at one another. I wish for my country that people would shut up and stop whining and  go and actually do something about the world, rather than telling other people what to do about the world, and making them feel fearful and small.

Where did I put my money today?

On six colorful Ikea bowls for $11.97 that I purchased on an Amazon Page set up so we can put some blankets, towels and utensils and other inexpensive but essential things on the tables and in the apartments of newly arriving refugees. It is a great way to give.

Thanks to many of you, these families will have blankets and towels and soap and plates when they arrive later this week. The U.S.Committee on Refugees and Immigration has set up the Amazon page to make it so simple to help these needy people. They are all here legally looking for nothing more than safety and work. Many have been through a terrible time.

For me, this is not a time for argument, it is a time to step outside of myself, do good and to listen and learn.

These people truly need help, and it has never been cheaper or easier to give it. They are not here to harm us, but to join us in the great American Experiment, the reason all of us are here.

We know precisely where the money is going and what it is going for. There are many good volunteers waiting to bring it to the apartments waiting for the refugees, and make them see what America is really like – it is a good and generous place.

They don’t need arguments. They need plates and blankets and forks and spoons. They need to cope with their first winter, and it is an upstate New York winter, the real thing. Several hundred people are coming to this area and nearby Vermont. The first thing many will see are our gifts to them, we are keeping the torch on the lady lit.

These are families who have lost everything, fulfilling their dreams of coming to America at a difficult time, fearful about seeing if the American Dream is for real. It is, your donations are filling up the USCRI warehouse near Albany, the volunteers are said to be in a tizzy, they never expected to be able to help so much so soon.

A friend of mine was ranting on Facebook yesterday about how he hated CNN, how it was “fake news,” and biased and stupid. It made him crazy to watch it, he said. His friends were all piling on, one outraged message after another. I could not help myself, since I am fond of him and know him to be a good person, I messaged him and asked “why are you watching it if it makes you angry? Why not go out and do your good thing, whatever it is?”

What good, I wonder, has ever been done by arguing on Facebook.

He did not, of course, answer.

I am spending no time arguing on Facebook or watching any cable news, not a second of my life – I don’t know anyone who watches cable news who is not angry and losing their rational brain cells. There is just nothing there for me.  I long for the day when people stop feeling sorry for themselves, angry and aggrieved and victimized and simply go out into the world and do something constructive.  Life is too precious for this.

For me, my values are not arguments for other people, they are just my values, no better or worse than anyone else’s.

I have no interest in fighting with anyone about them, or telling them what to believe, and I am generally am not interested in whether strangers approve about what I think and believe.  I’m not running for office, or offering a vote on my beliefs.

I don’t think Emerson or Thoreau worried about that too much either.

I love the attitude of Thoreau, he believed as I do that you are simply not alive if you are not making someone uncomfortable or getting them to think. You learn to think for yourself and stand in your truth. I see no real thought, either on cable news or Facebook. The people addicted to these forms of expression, seem miserable, they will not ever be happy, peaceful or well-informed, I think.

I prefer to ask myself every day what good can I do for someone.  I felt very good when I ordered those  colorful Ikea bowls.

It makes me feel good to think of an immigrant family, frightened and bewildered as my grandmother was, sitting down to eat in red, blue and yellow bowls that were hardy and very inexpensive to buy. Nothing could be easier, and instead of being angry and frustrated or fearful, I feel great. Good, worthwhile and hopeful.

I highly recommend the experience. Feeling good is better than feeling bad, doing good is better than arguing with strangers or watching something you will never like. Thanks to those many good people who have already helped. The items are very useful and inexpensive, you can buy things for as little as $ 7 or as much as $30. (If you donate, please mark the gift: ATTN Jake, if possible) He is the warehouse manager.

Tomorrow I might buy the soap, which many of the families need. 22 bars of Dial soap cost $15.00. Happiness and peace of mind have never been cheaper or easier.