Politics and The Decline of The United States

Not since the time of Theodore Roosevelt has politics been so broken along party lines and so controlled by big business.  In spite of the oft touted and repeatedly failed 'trickle down' theory espoused by many politicians, lower taxes on corporations has not increased job production.  In fact corporations have moved jobs overseas and are even now, attempting to merge with overseas corporations to establish that their headquarters are overseas and avoid paying the little taxes that the United States does impose on them.

When corporations and the top 1% were paying their fair share of taxes, the United States thrived.  Roads were built, jobs created and infrastructure maintained.  Once the tax burden was shifted from corporations to the middle class, the United States declined, roads and infrastructure has been left to fail and the middle class has all but disappeared.

Medicare and Social Security which was designed to keep seniors and those seriously disabled from sinking into poverty, are being attacked as contributing to the National Debt.  Revisions to both are being touted as reducing the debt with no mention as to the thousands of people who depend on these services.  In spite of laws being passed that supposedly would equal the playing field for owners and employees alike in the field of retirement savings; more and more it appears that loopholes exist for those wealthy enough to find them.

Far too often once an individual reaches the state level in politics, their campaigns are being funded by special interests to the detriment of the people who elected them.  If they go on to the Federal level, they are so firmly in the pockets of special interests that elections are no longer fair and unbiased.  If you are funded by a large corporation, drug company or other special interest you can afford to flow the airways with negative ads.  Comments are taken out of context and numbers are manipulated to show whatever the manipulator wants to show.

The United States will continue to decline as long as people refuse to think for themselves and listen only to a few voices.  We must continue to educate ourselves or we will have no one to blame but ourselves when the country fails.

Discrimination

When you hear the word "Discrimination" you naturally think of racial or sexual discrimination.  But, unfortunately, discrimination has many sutle forms.  Whether we know it or not we discriminate against someone, somehow everyday.  We may not vocalize it or make it apparent but it is there.  It is in our thoughts and actions.

When we were first created or born, we were pure and innocent.  We accepted everyone and everything for what it was.  We were amazed at the smallest detail and at the largest expanse of night sky.  As we grew older we were influenced by our parents who were products of the past and the accepted norms of that time.  We were also influenced by our playmates, classmates, employers, friends and the society in which we grew up.  We were also influenced by our own fears and misunderstandings.

We discounted certain people, places, foods, etc because our parents influenced us against them and our parents in our child's mind, were infallible.  We held to these beliefs because they provided us with a sense of comfort and belonging.  Even after we became adults it was difficult to shed these beliefs because they were so much a part of who we were.  If we had an open mind, receptive to change, eventually our views changed along with the times and we discovered that the beliefs of the past were just that, beliefs of the past.  Not necessarily wrong but no longer relevant to the world today.

Unfortunately there will always be those who want to cling to the past no matter how irrelevant or hurtful.  They continue to spew the hatred of the past cloaked in new language or in a different light so it is perceived as being different.  But it is not, it is discrimination.  It is "us versus them" wrapped up in either religion, politics, greed, or fear.  We all retain a healthy fear of certain things, certain animals to help us stay alive.  That does not make the things we fear bad or wrong.  It doesn't mean we need to eliminate these things or people. 

Discrimination is based on the fear of what we do not understand.  Humanity has overcome its fears in the past and become explorers, inventors, scientists, etc.  Once we stop fearing each other, except when it is justified, discrimination will be eliminated.  Politicians use fear to get us to vote in their favor and not always for the best.  Our creator gave us something no other animal has, the ability to reason.  To determine for ourselves the difference between right and wrong; to see the good along with the bad in people; to rationalize and think for ourselves and not be driven by instinct entirely.

Once we as a world begin to use this ability to reason on a more consistent basis, not only will it be a better place but discrimination as we know it will disappear.

FEAR

We fear what we do not understand and we try to destroy what we fear. 

As children we have no fear; we laugh and play with abandon.  We have to touch, taste everything regardless of the consequences.  As we get older we learn that we shouldn't touch a hot stove because it will burn us.  We learn that some things are not meant to be tasted, we learn not to dart out into the street without looking.  These are important lessons that we need to learn to survive. 

But fearing all people of a different race, religion, ethnic background is not a lesson that is key to our survival as a species.  Fear of a wild animal is good because it keeps us alive.  However, hunting them to the point of extinction is not.  Every living creature has a purpose in the circle of life.  Just because we cannot see it or it interferes with our lives is no reason to condemn an entire species or race or ethnic background to extinction.  An individual I once worked with said that he did not care if he never saw a tiger or if his children ever saw one. 

Only humans feel that they are so superior to all other species that they do not need to care about them.  Some native tribes believed that the Great Spirit lived in everything; the grass, the trees, the wind, the animals, etc.  Something more powerful than man created everything and designed the world around them.

But through the ages we have lost the wisdom of our ancestors and fallen into the trap of believing everything that is printed or shown on television without actually checking the facts.  The acts of a few Islamic militants have created a fear of all Muslims.  The horrific attacks by a few pit bulls or other dog breeds have spawned breed specific legislation to ban these breeds from entire cities or states.  Yet in the case of the pit bulls, german shepherds, rotties and others; it is their irresponsible owners who are actually to blame.

Fear can be a good thing, it can keep us alive and safe.  But allowing blind fear to rule our lives, cloud our judgement and close our minds makes us less than our maker intended us to be.

Moving Forward?

Since our inception as a nation we as a people have moved forward.  There have always been those who wanted to hang on the the ways of the past but we have been on the whole a nation that tried new things and did new things.  We were inventors, explorers, and not tolerant of those who attempted to reign in our enthusiasm.

Our nation was founded on the principle that given a chance anyone could make something of his life.  It was not always easy because there have always been those who wanted more than everyone else and would do whatever it took to keep it or get it.  In the west it was the cattle barons, silver barons, land barons, and in the east it was the robber barons and industrial giants.  But the opportunity was always there if someone was willing to fight for it.

That has all changed.  We are regressing back to Europe of the 17th and 18th centuries.  Wealth is held by a very small percentage of the population and they are dictating the future for all.  Large corporations are replacing the independent business man in just about every major industry and market.  We import food, oil and export money and jobs.

Once we were a shining beacon to the world of what could be achieved when man was free to be an individual.  Now we are becoming a flickering shadow just barely keeping the dark at bay.  Our politicians are corrupt, our churches are more concerned about the size of their buildings then they are about helping the poor, old and sick.  We no longer hold sacred the documents on which this country was founded but pervert them to suit our own selfish purposes.  We have also taken religion from a positive influence to a negative one.  We hear only what we want to hear, see what suits our purpose and turn our backs on all the good that this nation has stood for.  If anyone dares to point this out they are deemed unpatriotic, a heretic; if this doesn't harken back to the inquisition I don't know what does.

Don't think this goes unnoticed by either our "friends" or our enemies.  Both sides are waiting for this nation to implode and both have the same purpose in mind.  To pick up the pieces and remake us into their image.
I pray that this doesn't happen.  We can be that beacon again, it is within our power as a people to think outside the box and recreate the greatest nation on earth.

What Ever Happened To ... Part II

What ever happened to TOLERANCE.  According to the Webster's dictionary tolerance is defined as "freedom from prejudice; ability to bear hardship; allowance for variation; resistance."  Yet we have become a nation of intolerance on so many levels. 

We demonize illegal immigrants when in fact all of our ancestors were illegal prior to the establishment of the United States of America.  Many of them braved the same type of hardships to come to this country to try and establish a better way of life.  Once the United States was established they and their descendants became citizens of this country.  That is not to condone those who have been here for many, many years; have never attempted to become a citizen; or learn our language.  However, tolerance of them and consideration should be given.

We belittle and disregard those who do not worship as we do.  The last time I checked the only country that has a national religion is the Vatican, which is Catholic.  The Queen of England is the head of the Church of England but I am not sure it is the national religion.  Religious tolerance was the reason for the immigration of many of our ancestors.  They were prosecuted in their native countries and came here to escape and worship as they pleased. 

We totally disregard, belittle, verbally attack and sometimes physically attack anyone who does not hold the same political views that we do.  If everyone voted the same way it would be very boring and stagnant.  Our ability to elect political representatives on a regular basis ensures that we will have access to fresh ideas and keep our country moving forward.  Unfortunately, money has also insured that the interests of a few supercede the interests of the populace.

As a young person I was intolerant of many people and ideas because they did not mesh with what my parents believed or what I was taught.  As I have grown older, I find that many of those ideas no longer fit either who I am now or the world I live in.  There are still things that I find intolerable; abuse of the elderly, children, animals, spouses; pollution of our air, water and other natural resources; hunger.  In this day and age these are not new but they are increasing and should not be.

Each person needs to look inside themselves and truthfully ask and answer what they are intolerant of and why.  The answers may surprise you and they did me.

U.S. Constitution - 2nd Amendment

As with the Bible, people pull words and sentences from our Constitution to prove their own points of view.  This has been particularly true recently of the 2nd Amendment. 

As originally drafted the 2nd Amendment reads:  "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."  According to Webster's Dictionary, Militia is defined as "citizen army."  Using the same source Army is defined as "body of soldiers; large amount." 

Now it has been a few years since I studied American History but an army is usually a group of individuals, trained to fight for a common goal.  What a lot of people overlook is the part about A WELL REGULATED MILITIA.  Regulation would imply some sort of oversight to insure that the militia does not act on its own and do something that would endanger the common goal.  There have been military tribunals since the days of the wild west.  This was to insure that the calvary did not exceed its authority.

At some point in time prior to becoming a member of the military, our soldiers, sailors, etc were citizens.  They never lost their citizenship by joining the military.  They merely agreed to protect the United States as a whole as opposed to their own home, city, state only.  They did not become mindless killing machines as the veterans of the Viet Nam war were portrayed.  But they did become highly trained in the use of firearms that the average citizen did not.  This goes back to the wars in Greek and Roman history, when to win you had to insure that your opponent (enemy) suffered more loses than you did.  Any way to accomplish this in a time of war was acceptable.

Today we have people stockpiling AK 47s and AR 15s and high velocity ammunition strictly because they are afraid our Government cannot protect us.  Or they do not trust our Government to do the right thing or that, worst case, our Government would turn the army against us.  First, they have severely impacted the ability of duly sworn law enforcement to obtain the ammunition they need to keep our streets safe.  Second, if you disagree with our present Government, leave.  I am sure Mexico or Canada or South America would be happy to see you with some conditions of course.  Third, do you really think your AK 47 or AR 15 is any defense against a Scud or any other multiple shot warhead?  Fourth, have you really thought this through logically and without listening to the NRA, ACLU or any other special interest group?  Lastly, you proved the point that testing for competence to own and use a firearm should be mandatory not only at the time of sale but on a ongoing basis.

I believe that people, if they chose should have the right to own guns.  I believe that we need to provide the same level of monitoring that we do for people who drive cars to those people.  I also believe that weapons that have the capability of firing multiple rounds of ammunition should not be sold to the general public, rather they should remain for law enforcement and the military.

Priorities

What does it say about our elected officials when they postpone voting on aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy and continue to scare seniors and disabled individuals who rely on Social Security and Medicare to concentrate on overturning legislation that may actually help the people who need it most?  The attitude of "I've got mine, I don't care about anyone else" seems to be prevalent in both parties.  They make more money than most Americans would ever dream about, have more vacation, sick and other paid time off than other businesses can afford to give their employees and still they are not satisfied and want more sacrifices from the rest of us.  They persist in marching to their own drummers and doing what they want to instead of listening to the people who elected them.  They talk about the governments of other countries and the corruption that saps money from the people but fail to see anything wrong with them taking campaign contributions from special interest groups and then voting on legislation that directly impacts those groups in a favorable manner.  If that is not corruption, then I don't know what is. 

The last time elected officials of either party actually listened to the voters was probably back in the 1950s during the Eisenhower administration.  Different times, you say, yes but politics is politics is still politics and we still elect people in the same manner as then.  Yes our times have changed and yes we fighting different enemies abroad but we still have some of the same problems at home as then.  Hunger, unemployment, discrimination, etc.  Eisenhower established the highway system that we now utilize but no president since has funded the upkeep of these highways sufficiently to keep them from deteriorating to the point of failure.  Instead we wait until they do fail and then spend a lot more money to build something from scratch than if we had funded the maintenance on a regular basis.  Highways are not the only part of our infrastructure that is deteriorating, our electrical grid is woefully inadequate, our sewers and water systems are only slightly better.

Yet we persist in sending money overseas to aid other countries in their time of need and turn a blind eye to the needs of our own people.  The other nations of the world will not come to our aid if we fail.  In fact, some of them would probably be happy to see America fail.  You cannot buy friendship with aid no matter how humanitarian it is.  Congress talks about people on Social Security being free-loaders but what about the nations that we send aid to?  They are not required to pay it back or even to use it for the purpose for which it was intended.  In many cases, it goes to line the pockets of government officials instead of to the people.  Even if we send food or medical supplies, we have no guarantee that they will not be sold on the black market for profit.

While I realize that we live in a global community and must think and act globally to survive, we must also remember that if we fail from within the next hostile takeover will be our government by one of our so called friends.

Guns in America - Part 3

Okay have we lost the capacity for all rational thought?  One of the options being floated around is to arm our teachers.  That allowing our teachers to carry guns in the classroom will prevent future "Sandy Hooks".  On the surface this would appear logical.  But let's look below the surface and think this out, rationally.

Do we really want over-worked, underpaid teachers in schools with guns?  Our children lag so far behind other nations in critical learning skills, that we now want to add fear to their everyday existence.  Teachers spend just as much time baby sitting our children as they do teaching them math, science, reading, etc.  Now we want to add defending them against armed intruders to their list of duties.  I don't think so.

The gun lobby and gun shop owners want to arm everyone.  Some people for religious or other personal beliefs don't want anything to do with a gun.  I have seen some remarks on Facebook and other social media sites that portray these people as victims waiting to happen and deserve what happens to them.  How much farther does this nation need to fall when we under value people because of personal beliefs. Does this not fly in the face of what our founding fathers established this country for?  Have we become a nation so enamoured of our own wants and needs that we cease to care for others?

If we do arm everyone, then we really do not need police or our armed forces or the court system.  We can settle our own disputes, small or large, ourselves, without due process.  Is that the kind of nation we want our children growing up in?  Do we want America becoming another 3rd world nation? 

Once again, I do not oppose responsible gun ownership.  I believe that those individuals who hunt for food or have guns for protection should have them if they want them.  But I also believe that we need to treat them in the same manner we do responsible automobile drivers.  In order to maintain your driver's license you are tested every year or five years to insure that you are still capable of driving a car.  Is that too much to ask of someone who has a loaded gun next door?

I do not have an answer to what to do about guns in America.  I do believe that we must take emotion out of the discussion and think like rational human beings and find common ground.  If we don't then I am not sure that any of us will like the outcome.

Guns in America - Part 2

With the latest tragedy in Connecticut there will be the usual knee-jerk reactions to pass more gun control laws, lock down our schools, etc, etc.  Let's hope that a more thoughtful and realistic path will be chosen. 

 Let's more effectively enforce the laws that are already on the books.  Let's eliminate the sale of the AKs or AR type of weapons on line, at gun shows, in gun shops, anywhere they are now sold.  These weapons should not be readily available for purchase by the man on the street.  They were designed for the military or law enforcement and those should be the only people to legally own them. 

While I believe in the Second Amendment I also believe that not everyone is capable of owning weapons of mass destruction such as the assault rifles.  Since the shooter in Connecticut did not have a criminal background, legally he could purchase his weapon and that portion of the law could not have protected the innocents in that state.  Only prohibiting the ownership and purchase of such weapons will suffice.

The NRA and other gun lobbyists will try to hide behind the Second Amendment.  The gun manufacturers will cry loss of business; as will gun shops.  I ask them only one question:  "What if this had happened in the school your child, grandchild, niece or nephew attended?"

People kill people and they use many weapons.  A gun is just one but it is one that we can to some extent control access to.  Responsible gun owners should have nothing to fear from more stringent enforcement of existing gun laws.  I do not feel a complete ban on all gun sales will solve the problem nor is it necessary.  But I do feel that we must limit access to assault rifles and look very carefully at how many guns one person or one family feels the need to own. 

A gun for each member of the family is over-kill.  But I feel that if you have a gun in your house, everyone should know the proper way to handle it. 

Nothing will bring back the innocent lives taken in Connecticut or Colorado.  But we must act rationally to make our schools, shopping malls and other public places safer.

Guns in America

The Second Amendment allows people to bear arms and to form a militia.  But let's look at the point in time in which this amendment was written.  Armies were predominately volunteer or had vast areas to patrol, organized police forces either didn't exist or were small in size.  Our nation was vast and mostly rural in nature and remained so until the advent of train travel.  It took days or even weeks to get anywhere so in order to have some protection, our founding fathers decided that it was necessary to be able to defend oneself and our neighbors without having to wait on help that might never come or come too late.

Does it apply today?  I feel that anyone who wants to carry a gun and is trained to use it should do so.  I believe that personal use weapons such as handguns, rifles and shotguns should be legal for the average person to own.  Weapons of mass destruction such as AK 47s and such should not.  It should be illegal to sell them in gun shops, on the internet, gun shows or anywhere else.  Their only function is to kill people and a lot of people at one time.  They were designed for the military and that should be the only place they should be used.

I also feel that people who wish to own a gun should be trained and licensed and the training should be ongoing.  People should be tested as to whether or not they can safely use the gun every so often.  This could be done in conjunction with the gun purchase, enrolling in a gun safety class.  Granted criminals don't buy guns legally, they steal them or get them from other sources.  But at least the police would know if a gun is in a home and that the occupant is licensed and capable of firing it safely.

Banning guns in the USA won't work.  Guns are too much a part of our culture and our history.  Some European countries have done it with great success.  But I wonder how much a part of their history was determined by the use of guns, except in the time of war. 

I don't have the answer to the question of guns in America.  Could I use one?  I don't know.  Could I take another human being's life to protect my own or that of a loved one?  I hope I never have to find out.  But I believe in being prepared.

Voting in America

The right to vote is sacred.  It was paid for with the blood of the men and women who founded this nation.  The blood of our current military members keeps us free from tyranny and those who would drag this great nation through the mud.

Thankfully I have never known what it was like to not be able to vote freely and without intimidation.  I can't imagine what it must be like to be afraid to vote or to vote for who you want to.  I am also thankful that I was born in the 20th century and not the 19th or the early 20th century when women were treated as property and had no say in what went on even in their own homes.

We owe it to those who fought before us to vote in every election possible.  To be informed voters and gather information from various sources before making our decisions.  Not to blindly believe every sound bite or commercial placed before us. 

Did everyone that I voted for this last election win, no they did not.  But I voted for whom I thought would do the best job.  There will be another election and if those who did win do not live up to their campaign slogans, then they will be gone and someone else will have a chance.

The message is that who you vote for, while important, is not as critical as the process of voting.  The process of making your voice heard.  It is not a perfect system but it beats everything else that I have seen.

What Ever Happened To ...... Part I

What ever happened to COMMON SENSE?

I understand that it was slowly and painfully eroded by stupidity and laziness and the need to blame others for our own mistakes.  How, you wonder.  Well there was a time when 'if something wasn't broke, you didn't mess with it'.  There was a time when you learned from your mistakes and didn't make the same ones over and over again expecting things to change.  There was a time when you received a hot cup of coffee or tea or cocoa you checked the lid first before putting it to your lips to make sure it didn't spill.  Or if it did spill you didn't sue McDonald's because they didn't tell you how hot it was.  Come on, it's coffee; its been brewing in an urn all morning;  IT'S GONNA BE HOT!!!!!!

Now because some idiot sued McDonald's over spilled coffee there are warning signs on just about everything.  I haven't looked but I am sure that somewhere on my store there is a warning sticker that says that if you turn the stove on the burners will get hot and to keep your hands and extremities away.  We have stickers or language on microwave food warning us that the food will be hot when removed from the microwave.  Well isn't that what you want?  Cause if you want it to be cold or just barely warm, remove it from the freezer and let it sit out on the counter for a couple of hours and ...what for it.... lukewarm food.

There was a time when you took responsibility for your own mistakes.  That was part of growing up, taking responsibility.  You didn't blame the school system, the fact that you came from a broken home, the color of your skin, religion, etc, etc.  You overcame obstacles, you didn't blame them for your poor choices.  Parents believed in making their children take responsibility for doing homework, doing their chores, behaving in class, etc.  They attack the teacher or the school system for "picking" on their child because he/she was black, Asian, white or from a broken home.  I grew up poor.  We didn't know we were poor but we were.  We didn't have a lot of things that other kids had.  But we went to school, were bullied (at least I was) and learned to deal with it.  We lived outside of town on a small farm so I didn't participate in a lot of after school activities.  Mom didn't drive and dad worked long hours and I didn't get my first car until I could pay for it myself after I graduated from high school.  Did I miss out on things?  Yes I did, do I blame them or my parents for the poor choices I made after that?  No.  These were my choices.

Choices and understanding the consequences of making those choices helps sustain common sense.  Unfortunately, we have become lazy and prefer to blame others for the consequences of our poor choices, thus the demise of Common Sense.  RIP Common Sense, you are greatly missed.

Chik-Fil-A -- Tempest in Teapot?

The recent outcry regarding the personal opinion voiced by the CEO of Chik-Fil-A reflects just how far removed we have become from the nation formed by our founding fathers.  I could understand the outrage if they had indicated they would not serve openly gay individuals, or hire openly gay individuals.  But by merely stating that he believes that marriage is only between a man and a woman he is stating just that.  He believes that marriage is between a man and a woman.  This is in line with their Christian operating philosophy.  To me this is equivalent to boycotting them because they are closed on Sundays.  Personally I would love to see the old "Blue" laws reinstated.  Businesses would either be closed entirely or open after 1 pm on Sunday. 

To condemn an individual or a business because they do not believe the same as we do is about as far away from freedom of speech, religious freedom and probably many other freedoms as you can get.  Personally I believe that love knows no color or other boundaries.  You can't force people to love who or what you want them to. 

Slowly but ever surely many of the very freedoms guaranteed us in the Constitution are being stripped away not by a majority but by very vocal minorities.  In an effort to become more politically correct and not offend anyone, we offend everyone.  I firmly believe in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution as written by our founding fathers. They are as valid today as they were over 200 years ago.  You have only to look around the globe to see genocide in countries where freedoms either never existed or were applicable to a few.  Is this our future?  Are we destined to go the way of the Romans, the early Greeks, the Persians and the other great civilizations that flourished and then disappeared?

I firmly believe in the saying "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it".  There are many instances in our own history and that of others that we can learn from. 

The Chik-Fil-A controversy:  Tempest in a teapot or Tip of the iceberg.

Truth or Not

Ever notice that children cannot lie.  They can be brutally honest even when it embarrasses their parents.  Even if they do manage to lie it is obvious.  Something in their demeanor gives them away.  When does that change?

We lie so easily as adults that it is frightening.  Some people are so good at it that it is impossible to know if they are lying or telling the truth. Politicians have become particularly adept at this.  They know how to read their audience and tell just enough truth to pull them in but the rest is pure fabrication.  They are adept at telling people what they want to hear.

When did we become a nation that prefers to hear lies instead of the truth?  When did we lose the capacity of determining when we are being lied to and demanding the truth?  When did truth become a variable? 

There are no degrees of truth.  Just as a lie is a lie.  Is it better to lie to spare someones feelings?  Perhaps.  But, in my opinion, the truth will find a way to come out, if not now then later.  Have I lied?  Of course I have, I am only human and because of that I have tried to either make myself look good or avoid punishment for something I have done.  Time has always found a way to hold me accountable for that lie.

It is harder to lie to our parents because they know us so very well.  They may accept the lie but it hurts them because they want to believe us and once we have lied to them, they know that they cannot have the same level of trust as before.  It is easiest to lie to complete strangers because they know nothing of us.  Until they do, they have no reason to suspect that we can or would lie to them.  We can lie to our friends but they will always hold us accountable for the lie.  If they don't call us out at the time, they will later and want to know why and quite possibly the truth. If they don't get it, the relationship changes and trust is lost.

As I have gotten older, I find it easier to tell the truth no matter how painful it is to myself or to others.  Easier, in that I don't have to remember who I told which lie to and who knows the truth.  People can accept the truth or not.  Harsh, yes.  Brutal, can be.  But if I have told the truth as I understand it, then that is all I can do.  If what I believe to be the truth is proven to be wrong, I can apologize and hope I am forgiven.

Sometimes it is better just to say nothing than to lie. 

Primary Season Again

Has anyone noticed how negative the primaries have become.  Not just this year, although, this year has, thus far, been pretty bad, but past primaries as well.  I am sorry to say, that the primaries are a reflection of us as a nation.  We love the reality shows because they show people at their worst.  Sabotaging each other, doing and saying whatever will win the game.

Perhaps I am from a different place in time but I remember when primaries and life in general had a sense of respect.  People were taken to task for their policies, not their personal lives.  We had to way our options and were given the facts to do so.  The job applicants, for that is what they are, were asked how they would solve whatever social problems that we were experiencing at the time, not are you going to release your tax returns or did you really ask your wife for an open marriage?  Some may argue that these questions speak to the character of the individual and perhaps they do.

I was raised that if you said you were going to do something, you did it or better have a really good reason why you didn't.  Apparently that does not apply to politicians because they say one thing and proceed to do just the opposite or tell us we misunderstood them.  I am very concerned about the current group of job applicants for the highest office in our country, The President of the United States of America.  The incumbent has to overcome a lack of confidence in his abilities.  The challengers have yet to prove that they can do anything other than attack each other.  I have heard no clear plan of attack for solving unemployment except for different versions of the old 'trickle down' theory.  I have not heard anything except cutting spending to resolve the budget problems.  I have heard nothing at all about illegal immigration.  Of course, if our economy continues to stumble, that may resolve itself.  No one will want to come here, legally or illegally.

I fear for our country because the very people who helped build and sustain it are the ones being ignored and trod upon by the very individuals supposedly elected to be our voices.

Mourning

Mourning the loss of a loved one is a very personal thing.  What helps one person does not help another.  Time is irrelevant when you mourn.  It passes as always but it has no meaning, all you know is that it is time without the loved one. 

The stages of mourning vary with the person experiencing the loss.  Was it sudden?  Was it expected?  Were you there at the end?  While these are legitimate questions they really have no bearing on how you mourn or grieve.  It is easy for others to tell you what to do, even if they have also experienced the loss of a loved one.  But they cannot feel what you feel, they cannot tell you how or when to move on.  That is something only you can do.

The pain eventually eases but never really goes away.  Sometimes days or weeks will pass and no tears will be shed.  But you cannot put a limit on that time.  You cannot say within 3 weeks I will be at this point, at one month I shall be at another, at six months I'll stop crying. 

There was a time when black was the only color allowed for those in mourning, now it doesn't really matter.  The mourning period was a year.  A year of wearing black, staying away from social functions, being confined to home or church.  How times have changed.  But grief has not.  Perhaps staying away from social activities is not such a bad idea or maybe it actually helps to be around people who are not grieving.  Each person is different and each person will transition from stage to stage in their own time.

Let me grieve in my own way, in my own time.  What helped you may not help me.  Be my friend and let me grieve as I need to grieve.

Legislating Common Sense

With the verdict and sentencing now in for Casey Anthony, Florida is now considering a law that makes it a felony to knowingly lie to police. While on the face it sounds like a good idea, how do you prove it. Liars by their very nature try to be as convincing as possible. Look at Susan Smith who killed her two sons and had the nation believing that a black man had carjacked her and drove her SUV into the lake. When in fact she did it herself.

You cannot legislate for common sense. You cannot legislative against being stupid. People will try to lie their way out of any situation to protect themselves from the consequences of that situation. Our politicans do it every day. Corporate raiders do it every time they buy a company with the intent of breaking it up and selling the pieces for a profit.

Also putting a another law on the books is no guarantee that it wouldn't happen again and again. Oh but this time there would be a penalty, you say. Well there are penalties for driving drunk and driving without a license. But people do it on a regular basis and are being caught on a regular basis.

The problem is that our children and young people are not being taught that actions have consequences. Until that happens other children will continue to be killed by the very people that should be protecting them.

House Divided

There is an old saying, A house divided cannot stand". Well with modern technology it may be able to stand but can it support the people inside it? Probably not. We are becoming a nation divided. Each day I read news reports where people are complaining about "those people" should not have this, that or something else.

We are becoming the very type of nation that our ancestors left Europe, the Middle East and Asia to escape. The Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence came about because they wanted to be free. Free from religious persecution. Free from the class struggles. Free to prove that they were equal. Free to speak their minds without fear of imprisonment.

Have we forgotten this? Surely our ancestors are rolling in their graves at the things we are so upset about today. We don't have to agree with everything we hear. We don't have to try to convert everyone we meet to our way of thinking. Our way of thinking changes based on our life experiences. Our life experiences are different from someone else. How we are raised is different from everyone else because how our parents were raised is different.

If we don't put aside our petty differences and start pulling together on those things that affect us all, our enemies will not need another 9/11 to defeat us. We will have become so divided and disjointed that they will be able to carve us up like a Thanksgiving turkey. There will no longer be a United States of America.

Government for the people?

It has only been 150 years since the Civil War and yet we have forgotten the how polarizing it was. Slave owner versus non-slave owner, states' rights versus federal government. Us versus them. In Lincoln's Gettysburg Address he stated that the civil was was fought so that the government of the people, by the people and for the people should not perish. In every conflict that the US has engaged, even if it was not popular, we entered in on what we felt was the side of right. The enemy was clearly defined, we engaged him and eliminated the threat.

Yet 150 years later we are engaged in another internal struggle, another us versus them fight. However, the us and them are not clearly defined and if you watch the news or read the papers, the sides change places or even change names. Yet the polarizing words "us versus them" carry great weight. Big business versus the worker, the elderly versus medicine, legal immigrants versus illegal immigrants.

Instead of being the voices of reason and providing options and ways to settle these conflicts, our elected officials seem to be fanning the flames of discontent. The reason this seems so shocking to me is that I have labored for many years, under the impression, that by voting these individuals into office, that my voice would be represented. How naive. My vote may have helped elect them to office, but their views and opinions were formed long before the election. They were bought and paid for by the special interest with the deepest pockets or the best retirement package. Many elected officials upon leaving government service, go into the private sector, some via the lecture circuit but others through employment with the very companies they were responsible for drafting legislature to govern their activities.

All political parties foster the us versus them mentality because it is the only way they can stay in power or at least garner some power for themselves. The latest "them" was Wall Street. The housing market tanked, investment firms went under, companies too big to fail were given government bailouts and told to reduce management bonuses and salaries. Once the dust settled and the worst offenders were eliminated, everyone else went back to business as usual and corporate bonuses were once again being posted in the papers.

Yet nothing has really changed. The housing market has not recovered, unemployment is still high the doomsday predictions for Social Security and Medicare are still being used to either reduce spending or increase it depending upon which side of the aisle you are seated. Slowly but surely our government has turned its back on the very people it was formed to serve. The checks and balances that our founding fathers installed have been trampled in the dust and the Constitution itself, ignored.

We no longer have a government for the people and it only took 150 years from the war that was fought to preserve it.

Fanatics

Fanatics come in all sizes, shapes, colors and types. There are the religious fanatics such as those who orchestrated 9/11 and those who burn Korans. There are political fanatics who believe that their political party is always right and everyone else is wrong. There are also the patriotic fanatics who take love of country to an extreme level of hating everyone else.

They all have one thing in common. They believe that they are right and that everyone else is wrong. They feel that belief gives them the right and obligation to convert everyone else to their way of thinking or eliminate them. In their world there is only one option to believe as they do or die.

I love my country and believe that the USA is the best place to live in spite of all of our problems. That does not mean that I do not respect the right of a Canadian or Mexican or Iranian to feel the same about his. I am also a Christian but I also respect the rights of Buddhists, Jews, Muslims to worship as they see fit.

Fanatics know no limits. They will do whatever it takes to press their cause. We must be vigilant but not rush to condemn. We must be careful not to become one of them.