Independence Day 2014

  Here in America we are celebrating Independence Day. As I began to think about the
idea of independence, I decided to start a blog. I am seeking independence from what I
perceive to be the restrictions of various social media. I have friends on Facebook from
all across the political spectrum. In addition, these friends have a wide variety of
religious beliefs or no religious beliefs at all. What I have found over the past few
years is that I am constantly editing myself on FB for fear of offending a portion of my
friends. I refrain from posting comments or even "liking" the posts of others for fear of
generating nasty discourse.

  This blog to a great extent will serve as an electronic diary. That doesn't mean I will be
sharing an excessive amount of personal stories. To the contrary I will be posting mostly
on the following subjects: current events (including human interest stories), history,
political issues,  religion and morals, human virtues and vices, and how society has been
transformed through social media.

  I chose "Lust for Life" as the title of my blog. I did not do this as a homage either to Iggy
Pop or to the 1934 novel  and 1956 movie about the life of Vincent Van Gogh. The title
comes from my personal belief that life is a gift that should not be wasted. Too often we
do things or fail to do things for the wrong reasons. Sometimes the right thing to do is keep
one's mouth shut or one's fingers off the keyboard. But at other times the need to say something
is so powerful that when we suppress it we wind up hurting ourselves mentally and
physically. Now that I am 50-something years old, I have finally decided to create a place where
I can express myself freely. I have come to realize that life has so much to offer and the world
we inhabit is filled with beauty. If you spend too much time focusing on news media you will
undoubtedly focus on the ugliness of the world created by the darker side of human nature.

   For now I will wish all of you who celebrate it a Happy Independence Day. My only
cautionary advice is to remember to be sensitive to pets and veterans with post-traumatic
stress disorder when setting off fireworks and other explosives.

   In my next post I will introduce myself to anyone who might be interested.

   Cheers,

   JY