Two Birds with One Stone

Two Birds with One Stone

12/9/13

The usage of a bird is a common animal that houses, territories or nations commonly use on their standards.  What about when a house, territory or nation uses one bird as their symbol but in reality projects another kind of bird towards the rest of the world, especially when these birds of representation are totally opposite of each other’s lifestyles?  Are we blind to what our hearts are portraying to each other or are we just deliberately living a double life from within?  The evidence is present for this double standard but as the title of this article states, the action verb of the phrase is what happens to both birds.  We need to change our ways before someone picks up that stone and uses it to complete the phrase.

I know that I have heard this phrase used many times throughout my life and for various reasons as well.  For the most part the phrase is used in good measures with a person or company taking care of two problems at once during one process.  It would seem that this phrase could only be used in good terms since the streamlining of events is everyone’s goal in life.  It saves time, money and effort when this process is done correctly.  But when one looks at this phrase in a wider stance, the meaning can actually bring a different ringing of our mind’s bells when we put the emphasis on the birds instead of the action of the one taking care of the birds.

Most of us understand that nations, families and other territories and provinces have flags, or standards, that they use to identify themselves to similar representatives.  This is an old custom and I suggest that you pull up some of the countries and territories of the world and study their flags and standards.  Some of the standards and crests that the old European, Asian and African peoples used are beautiful and have so much meaning to the ones that flew these flags for centuries. 

Many of these flags and crests are adorned with birds and represent either the bird of the area or in reference to the status of that family during certain periods of their existence.  Each flag and crest has a specific meaning and definition that the family or nation has followed. These crests and flags do not always go unimpeded with their designs and many times there are groups of people who hate what the flag stands for or even burn the standard as an act of protest against the specific family or nation.  Our own nation’s flag has come into light when it comes to this cowardly act of violence but we all need to keep in mind that it is a choice that a person, group or nation has that feels like they need to publicly demonstrate their disapproval of such standard.

It is never a good scene to watch people intentionally burn a flag of a country.  And when that flag that is set aflame is your country’s symbol it becomes distinctively painful to witness enjoy their destructive behavior against you personally.  Now we all understand that no everyone will agree with every decision that one’s home country makes but it is of an honorable society to correct those wrongs by not repeating them again.  The tables are turned however, when people of one country voluntarily disgrace their own flag or standard.  I must admit that is it very painful to hear and read about people who have issues with their country enough to display acts of violence against their own flag or crest.  This demonstration does not only show others an example of solidarity with their disagreements without country it also provides to others a state of change from within our country concerning the heart of the people.

While our flag does not have a bird on it our country has adopted a bird as its official symbol.  We see this bird on many things including our money, official governmental symbols and crests, and on various private markings that the public looks at every day.  We have pee wee, high school, college and professional teams who have taken the name of this bird as their emblem.  No matter what the team’s season has been we never deny the fact that the eagle is a proud and majestic bird that one should be proud of when people read about the teams’ history.  The eagle has become a recognized symbol that our country uses to identify a government official when they arrive at a foreign dignitary’s place of residence or business. 

When my wife and I went to Alaska to visit one of her friends we spent a great deal of time driving around the city of Juneau just looking at the different scenes of nature.  While we were on one of our excursions my wife noticed something while that was located in a tree.  I peeked over to see what she was referring to and saw the same thing.  At the time I had no idea what the white object was in the pine tree but I found it very beautiful and I found myself staring at it for a few moments before we proceeded down the road.  These white objects were not numerous but would appear every once-in-a-while and they would all of them be in the different trees.

Now most people when they mention that they have been to Alaska others want to know about all of the wildlife that the visitors witnessed.  While we did not see too many large creatures we did get to witness spawning of some of the salmon which I found very interesting to watch.  It was funny yet wise to have “No Fishing” signs around the stream mouth because in all reality it would technically be poaching if one fished here.  There were fish everywhere trying their best to head up from the bay into this small stream. 

Where there is a bunch of fish there is usually birds flying around as well and with the amount of fish literally crawling up each other to enter into the stream it was easy pickings for the numerous birds flying around as well.  I noticed all of the birds coming and going with bits of fish meat dangling from their mouths and talons and it was amazing to watch the steady flow of birds constantly landing and taking off. However, when an eagle approached the area all of the other birds quickly disappeared and the eagle soon was on its way to grab its portion for the day.  The eagle was wonderful to watch, completing it feeding duties and then returning to the trees.

It then hit my wife and me at the same time that the little white golf balls in the trees that we were noticed from the car were actually the heads of the eagles.  It took the action of the eagle and its return to its nest that triggered this thought into our heads.  The eagle was just minding its own business watching all of the activity from its nest and waiting for the right moment to come and get what it needed.

Once we knew what we were looking for it became almost like a game to us to try and find other white golf balls in trees.  After we had located some we did our best to stare at them as long as we could since being from the area that we lived in basically had no bald eagles for us to observe.  There was something about watching the eagle soar above us and then swoop down and grab its food and then leave the immediate area again.  It was a smooth process almost methodical in appearance and then quickly gone home.

I refer to this bird because it is the national symbol of our country and the founders who chose this bird as our symbol couldn’t have picked a more adequate animal for the world’s representation of our country.  The eagle is a majestic bird whose flight patterns have been studied for decades, its feeding patterns photographed and its care for its young plastered all across world magazines for everyone to behold.  It would be hard for a person to argue that this bird is not beautiful to look at and stunning to watch while it completes it everyday activities. The founders did an excellent job in choosing this bird as our national symbol since for almost three centuries now our country has performed its daily activities in this same manner.

The eagle is an ambitious and warrior-like bird, strong and worthy of its stature and it commands a humble respect from all other birds that are around it.  The eagle does not take from its competitors nor does it steal from its own because it would go in contrast to its ethical code.  When times are tough it works hard to find its source of food and energy and pursues this source with a direct authoritative spirit that tends to ward off any enemy present within the area.  The eagle protests its family with a ferociousness not demonstrated by many other avian species and when attacked it finds ways to make sure that its attackers understand that they have made a terrible mistake.

As with our eyes noticing the white golf balls in the green pine trees, the eagle sees its surroundings and it understands every bit of activity that swirls around it.  It plays no games when it comes to the security of its family and neighbors for it knows that if its neighbors are attacked then they too could be next in line, so they sit with their eyes peeled waiting for anything amiss to occur.  What a perfect setting to imagine that our country is doing every day, another reason why the founders could not have chosen a better national symbol.

It makes one wonder if our founders understood just how accurate they were when they choose the eagle as the symbol of our country. As I continue my study of the founders I am becoming more and more convinced that they did understand every possibility that this country could have upon the world and since the national symbol was and still is a popular notification, that the eagle would be the best choice for our nation.

I wish that I could say that every eagle that has ever lived had these same qualities as the eagles that I am referring to in this article.  But in all honesty I must admit that it is very possible and almost probable that there have been some eagles who have demonstrated other characteristics than what I have been describing.  It is logical for me to assume that this is a correct statement because even though the majority of humans could fall into the category of good and decent citizens who love their country, there would be those who did not see this type of belief as being fit.  It is these people who start out few in number yet rise in rank within society and then make enough noise to have their presence noticed by others.

These people have chosen to uphold their portion of the nation differently and while the majority of these people probably do not have anger or hatred within their hearts the progression of what follows them breed discontent and hatred in the form of natural progress of the human spirit.  I understand that this is a huge statement but stop and take a look back at where we have come from and where we are now and then compare the two settings.  Lose the political, emotional and human biases that we carry and look at our past and ten current times and see the differences that are present now.  It is safe to say that we no longer represent an eagle but that of a raven.  And to be fair I am now going to look at the raven and its life patterns so we can all know each side of the story.

The raven is a scavenger by nature and it sees everything that it can take from its competitors instead of working for its own needs.  The raven flies high as the eagle and its eyesight is just as keen and sharp, yet it uses its natural abilities to fend off others in order to take what has been provided by others’ means.  Ravens have no friends including the other ravens that might be in the area.  Nor do they truly want to make new friends, only use them for superficial gain and when their usage is done throw them to the other scavengers for annihilation, all the while watching them perish as they fly away seeking to locate further friends.  Ravens have been known to scare away younger predators in order to “flex their feathers” to obtain superiority among the local avian population.

Why would a bird actually want to continually live in an area full of desolation with no future of natural change possible, yet rely on other animals’ demise for their own consumption?  With this flight a raven believes in and cares for only itself and it is their right to have what they want, when they want it and it does not matter who they get their wants from either.  Both the eagle and raven expend equal amounts of energy to complete the necessities of the day and even though they may share similar features that each bird has, their hearts are totally different and their pursuant motives definitely can be seen by others.

Some of you may fail to see the comparisons between the two birds and how humans act within our country.  Each bird represents a spirit within in their lives each of which is distinctive to its own species, so does each human.  Now it is feasible to say that both the eagle and the raven cannot change its physical appearances to look like the other and even though humans try and do the same we too cannot totally complete this transformation.  It is also logical to say that both birds have a distinct philosophy about their daily activities and that sometimes an eagle can act like a raven and a raven act like an eagle and do not even get me started about this characteristic about humans. 

It has been said that what counts about a person only comes from within and that we should not take the physical into consideration when addressing a human being.  It is the actions of a person that give others the predetermination of that human, not what the person looks like. But we need to think about what exactly is going on inside the person who demonstrates a scavenger attitude towards his fellow commuters.  While we continue to notice the decent and honorable deeds that many of us do it is the actions of those scavengers who grab all of the attention.  It is the choice of the eagle to act like a raven and vice versa, as it is with the human being to act accordingly to the eagle and raven.  What the difference between the birds and the humans is that we have a choice to which we can pattern our behavior and turn from or go without choice.

It has become apparent that many governments within the world have turned towards the scavenger side of life instead of trying to soar with the majestic eagle.  We in this country have begun this turning as well.  Look at what we are reporting on the news each night and if you look at the inner deeds of these people you will see the scavenger-like beliefs protruding.  In other words, while we may have our common physical features in view for the world to notice it is our inner distinct character that the world is seeing.  Humanity is well beyond just a few of us acting in this manner, it has become a choice of life and a conception of a new way of living that will end in a result of death.

It is very important for us to understand that the founders chose the eagle as our national symbol for a reason.  They saw the integrity and drive of each family of this country displayed against the current belief of despair and the down beaten that the world had to offer.  The ones who braved their journey and risked their lives to seek a better standard for their families are the ones that this country displayed to the world.  The founders understood that some decisions would be hard to make and then to live with but they made those choices out of the goodness of their hearts.  It is this standard that the eagle was adopted by this country. 

But can we honestly say that our country still represents an eagle not only to the world but also to ourselves?  The dishonesty, cheating, stealing, and total corruption of our motivations have now encumbered a dishonorable reputation and are now breeding discontent within our own borders.  We have even lost our sense of humor that has been famous worldwide in favor for a stymied “correct” language that only frustrates everyone who is forced to live within its confines.  When our body’s appearance is more important than our education system, we have lost our way.  When our compassion for those that are less fortunate has been replaced with mandates and demands, our goals have been smashed from within.  When we loft ourselves high into the air and demand that others heed our commands without question then our defining spirit has been replaced by a “ravenistic” ideology.

Now let us do some investigating as to why our great symbol of the eagle is being taken over by the raven.  It is not easy to miss when it is placed into this type of scenery.  Whether one will admit it or not we are still living in pretty good times inside the western world. However, it is visible that this bubble of luxury is beginning to display some major cracks that if we do not band together and fix, will lead to a huge opening that will enable our way of life to disappear when times really become tough.  We have an obligation to see this ravenous state of our heart and to reverse the bloodline that we are providing for our children.

The progression of human self dependence has furthered this ravenous contention between nations.  A question that I have to ask and one that needs to be thought about very seriously is this: how many dead eagles do you see along the side of the road? And the next question would be this: how many dead ravens do you see along side of the road?  I just turned 46 years of age and I have never driven by a dead eagle next to the road, but I have driven by many dead ravens.  There is a difference in the eagle from the raven and in each difference there is a standard that has been bred into their lives.  Remember the old saying of how can you soar with eagles while you work with a bunch of turkeys.  Put the word raven in the turkey slot and then repeat that saying and that is exactly in what direction we are headed.

How does this fit into the title of the article?  Killing two birds with one stone is a great phrase and I hope that we all look at its wording a bit different after this article.  The phrase refers to two birds being killed.  It does not say what kind of birds, just two of them.  It refers to only one stone used to complete the task of killing these birds.  The phrase also refers to something or someone using the stone to strike the two birds that are close enough to each other to complete the task.  And finally the end result is the death of the two birds and the stone falling to the ground and waiting for someone else to pick it up again.

I believe that I have clearly demonstrated the two birds in this article and how they represent the two spirits within this country.  The something or someone who throws the stone represents us, each one of us in this country.  The stone represents our choices that we have picked up off the ground and are going to use against one another.  The verb killing used in this phrase is exactly what we will be doing to our country and to ourselves as soon as we pick up that stone and hurl it towards one another.  That stone will strike us and it will kill our bird.  It kills the eagle because that is not what our country was founded upon and it kills the raven because the raven is just doing its job where carnage has been left.  Both birds are in the same vicinity and are close enough to be killed with this one stone.

This setting is a perfect example of what our lives were meant to be and at the same time what we are allowing our lives to become.  We, humans are the same and have not changed our appearance, nor can we.  It is our hearts that are being changed by the choices that we make and how we deliver them to the world.  There are so many catch phrases that are being thrown at every group in this country and all we are doing is leaving the world without a leader while we transform ourselves into ravens.  Our country was not founded on being a raven, we were created as eagles.  The same goes for humanity overall for we were created to soar or to have dominion over this world instead of becoming its slave. 

Listen carefully to this statement before jumping to conclusions and picking up stones.  Our country was founded to be a light into the world and to show the world that with hard work, that prosperity can be introduced into every nation.  Lowering our standards to another level does not fix this sad situation and is definitely not a characteristic of a leader.  It is evident that there are many nations throughout this world who are spiritually and physically deprived of the high standards that we all desire.  But what we are missing is that the leader of the free world has encompassed itself with a ravenous philosophy that will only hurt the world and not help it and our actions will only shed further division and violence against each other. 

There is only one answer to our raven-like activity and that is by our creator Himself.  In no way can humans alone turn our world in the direction where it can heal itself.  Humans can only produce more raven-like attitudes and hearts which will rip our lives apart both spiritually and physically.  It is easy for us to want an answer to our problems but we must come to the conclusion that it is foolish and deadly to seek this answer by ourselves.  Only God has the answer for our lives and only He can turn our raven hearts around.  Our country was founded on eagle principles and we need to ensure that this foundation is not ripped away.  God is calling all of us to recognize Him once again so that He can restore our majestic flight status once again.  Once again it is our choice in the matter and so does the question in hand, what are you going to do with that stone?

DLB