Obama &The Wisdom OfMartha Washington

Dateline: 24 August 2013

Martha Washington, as she looked when she married George

I am doing well at maintaining my mainstream media fast. Oh, I may glimpse a headline when I do a Google search, but, for a season, I'm refusing to submit myself to the media manipulators. I can report that it is a liberating experience.

Were it not for my son telling me last night, I would have completely missed the news that the president of the United States of America was in "the neighborhood." 

He was in Auburn, New York, a small city about 20 minutes from my home. He stayed at the Holiday Inn, which is sort of right in front of the state prison where I used to work.

From what my son told me, it is a big deal. Security is, of course, tight. The airspace over the city was shut down. Roads were blocked off. And people are swarming into the area hoping to see the president. 

Silly people.

You will never see me among the masses fawning for a glimpse of any president or politician, or any movie star, or any singer, or any sports star, or any of so many other just-people who have achieved mainstream "superstar" popularity. If the presidential circus happened to drive by my place out here in the countryside, I'm sure I would watch the show go by, and even give a friendly wave, but I don't have the time or the inclination to get any more excited than that.

You are probably wondering, from the title of this blog post, what exactly Obama has to do with Martha Washington? The answer is, exactly nothing. My intention with this post was to share a quote (and the interesting picture above) with you, only to be interrupted by the news that Obama was in town. 

I happen to admire George Washington (I do not admire Obama). I admire Washington because of his Christian character, his love of farming, and his exemplary manliness. And I have long suspected that Martha Washington was an admirable person too. She is, however, something of a mystery. But I recently read a quote from Martha Washington that I think is really good, and it provides a glimpse into her character. Here it is...

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances. We carry the seeds of the one or the other about with us in our minds, wherever we go."

It would appear from that snippet of a letter that Martha Washington had to deal with some difficult situations in her life. And she chose to deal with them as a Christian should. Her quote is an echo of the apostle Paul, in Philippians 4:11-12...

"...I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content."

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The picture of Martha Washington at the top of the page is from the cover of Martha Washington: An American Life. It was forensically derived from a painting of her in old age that her family said was a very good likeness. You can read about the picture and the younger Martha at This Link.

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Update: 25 August 2013

The Midland Agrarian has added some good thoughts and quotes about mainstream-media fasting at this post: Info Fasting