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Sorry, been away for a bit. Spent time this past weekend wondering what we are asking our military to fight and die for. Why would anyone want to sign up for that job? When they are enlisted, their families struggle to make ends meet. When they come home, we don't take care of them. We don't provide the medical care needed and deserved. Our own military is poverty stricken. Out leaders in Washington get fat pay checks and medical privileges that are incredible to say the least! Where is our moral outrage at what is happening in our country?
Let's look again at the top – our national leadership. Election to office originally was a duty to serve your country. It has evolved into a money grubbing system where our elected officials write laws and sign off on legislation that lines their own pockets. How many private businesses could stay open if they carried the debt that our country does? Yet we show no outrage at the irresponsible spending and waste within our government. Just yesterday I heard that the IRS commissioned a study to determine if your name is an indication of your political affiliation! Really!???! The government has made people dependent, and now they just ask for more. Why don’t we get upset when millions, no billions are wasted?! What kind of a country are these “Leaders” providing for us and our children and grandchildren? Why do we continue to elect them? How about the lack of morals? Politicians, celebrities, athletes, professionals. How many have you read about who have illicit affairs, who have lied and cheated, who have stolen or killed, who take drugs or die from overdoses of drugs, who ruin the lives of the people around them with substance abuse. Yet, we continue to put these people on pedestals and buy magazines about them, purchase their merchandise, wear their jerseys. In fact, we do everything we can to be like them. Anyone want to make your lips bigger? Just stick them in a shot glass. The news was not concerned that “stars” would suggest such a behavior. They were telling parents to question their child if he/she asked for a shot glass! Where is our moral outrage?! Is this really what you want your children to aspire to be like? What about the hate mongering that we face every single day? What kind of world do our children face, when mayors and ministers endorse a vendetta against all police officers? These people put their lives on the line every day to try and protect us. Why aren’t we demanding that drug dealers get out of our neighborhoods? Why aren’t we screaming when our hard earned dollars are taken from our homes to provide for people who refuse to work? Why aren’t we demanding that help be provided in a responsible way to get someone back on their feet, not support them for the rest of their lives and for generations after? I have taught my kids that there are good and bad people in every part of life. I have taught them to be kind and helpful and to work hard for what they have and what they want. I have taught them not to expect handouts. No, I have taught them that no one deserves handouts. I have hope that there are still more good people in the world than bad, but I watch as the good people sit back and do nothing to right the wrongs they see. They huddle to themselves, they don’t want to get involved, they don’t want to make waves. Get off your butts and do something, anything to make this world, this country, your community a better place for your family to grow up in. Don’t be afraid to stand up and be heard! If you don’t, you have no one to blame but yourself when morals, money, possessions, homes, freedom are taken from you, your children, your grandchildren. Think it can’t happen? Ask the people in Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Russia, Afghanistan, Iraq how they feel about a government that takes it all. One of my favorite quotes by Edmund Burke is “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Will you allow evil to triumph? What example will you set? What kind of a legacy will you leave your family? What kind of a world will they live in?
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If you need to believe in miracles, just look at your children!
Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday. My weekend will start with watching “Pook” receive his diploma from college, as well as academic honors! It makes me think back through all of the years spent raising this wonderful family. At times it was trying, but at the end of the day I would not trade one minute of it. I have been very blessed with seven wonderful children. Each is unique – no cookie cutter kids here. Yet, there is a common thread that runs through all of them. They are all courteous and respectful (98% of the time). When they do goof up, they are accountable for whatever they have done. They take responsibility and adjust as necessary. That is huge in today’s world, in my opinion. They respect authority, although they may not always like it, they respect it. They are considerate of others. Mine are the children who hold doors open for elderly people at the grocery store. They will stop and offer to put groceries in the car for someone. We did have a discussion recently about whether or not there is a line that you should not cross in helping others. Apparently burying the cat of someone from church in your yard, crosses that line. I have been warned not to start burying road kill and have one mark against me that puts me closer to the “Home”. My arguments that the lady lives in an apartment, had nowhere to take it, and was heartbroken, fell on deaf ears. Anyway….. They are honest. If they find something that doesn’t belong to them, they make every effort to find the owner. They have been taught that lying is not okay. Tell the truth. It doesn’t mean you won’t get a punishment, you still tell the truth. Sometimes as a mom, I have told white lies. I specifically remember loading the kids into the car when some were in grade school. “Pook” felt what he thought was a raindrop fall on his head. He put his hand up and found purple stuff all over his hand. I ran back inside and got a wet paper towel and wiped it off. I refused to tell him that a bird had “dropped” on him and managed to convince him that a berry had fallen off the tree above him. Do you know what kind of chaos would have ensued had I told the truth at that moment?! I have since confessed to him. Most of all, my kids are loving. I feel it every day. Our relationships have grown in maturity and love. I enjoy them now as adults. We talk about EVERYTHING! My children are my protectors, the tables have turned. For all of the years I spent looking after them, they are paying me back tenfold! I love them more today than the first minute I held each of them in my arms. I never thought that could be possible. My heart was bursting with love for them even before they were born. So, this Mother’s Day I want to thank my children for becoming the wonderful people that they are. They have made being a mother my greatest achievement. I love you all “Mommy”, “Calvin”, “SuperSon”, “Mini Me”, “The Blonde”, “Pook”, “The Surprise”. Happy Mother’s Day to You!!!! Confession of the Week: I am a liar.
At least that is what an adult (respected by my children) told them many years ago. “Your parents are liars if they teach you that the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus are real.” Can I tell you how I feel about this? First, let me tell you that instantaneously my children no longer were allowed to be around that individual for two reasons. Number one, why would you set a child up to question the integrity of his or her parents. Number two, it is none of your business and totally out of line! Yes, I confess. I taught my kids about the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy. In my opinion, kids need to have fantasy to enjoy and grow with. It is a natural part of childhood. What is wrong with believing that there is something magical in the world? Sometimes, it is all a child has to hope for. The stories about these characters are heartwarming and innocent. They put smiles on the faces of both children and adults. So do cartoons, and yet somehow we know the difference between reality and fiction. I am okay with superheroes too. Who couldn’t use a superhero once in a while? And, I am okay with Halloween and dressing up as a superhero, or princess, or imaginary character. I have heard all the arguments about what Halloween is really about. How many people do you know that really celebrate Halloween as a satanic holiday versus dressing up and knocking on doors for candy. When I was a kid it was actually called Beggars Night. News Flash: I have also taught my children about Angels, Demons, God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. If we take all the magic out of the world for children, what do we leave them with? The reality that we all face as adults. Couldn’t we all use a little belief in magic to get through a tough day once in a while? Believing in magic only becomes a problem if it interferes with reality. The reality that you can teach your children is this: Believe in magic. Miracles happen. Ask God. Superheroes are real. They may not always have super powers but they are real and we see them every day. They are the policemen who protect us from criminals. They are firemen who rescue us when a burning building is collapsing. They are paramedics who answer emergency calls. They are doctors and nurses who help us heal. They are teachers, librarians, plumbers, electricians, etc. (Please forgive me for leaving out your profession!!!!) They are parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. They are family. Teach them to take one minute out of every day to thank someone. That thank you can make each of us a super hero to someone who needs to hear those two words once in blue moon. Thank you!!! And so it continues. I have watched and listened to all of the craziness taking place not only in Baltimore but now in other cities around the country and I ask myself a few questions. First, what happened to common sense and rationale behavior. I lived through the riots decades ago in the 60’s and 70’s. I vividly remember the protests about Viet Nam. We are supposed to learn from history and yet today, history again repeats itself. The riots and protests of decades ago were for a variety of reasons, although some were the same as today. Have we learned absolutely nothing!!?!! It is clear to me, and I hope I am not unique, that rioting and looting and burning down your city does absolutely no good.
I do not condone bad behavior by anyone. There are good and bad people in all walks of life. All must be fairly and justly dealt with. All deserve the same freedoms, unless they have done something to lose that right. Leadership in any community, state, or country needs to be held to a high standard. These are the people who should carry the banner for what is right. Yet the very leaders we elect have us over and over again. The war on poverty has been lost. We send billions of dollars in aid around the world, while our own citizens live in abject poverty. We take care of people who have come to our country illegaly, yet our own veterans and military families go without basic needs. Maybe it is time to admit that we have failed and try a different approach. Maybe instead of people being taught to live dependently on the government on the backs of hardworking people, we should help people learn how to support themselves. The Bible teaches us that if you give a man a fish, he has one meal. If you teach a man to fish, he will be able to provide many. The war on drugs is being lost. Heroin in particular is a death sentence to our communities. It is highly addictive as well as being a drain on the social system. And yet we have failed to eliminate the problem. Maybe we need to look at new things. The law applies to all. As I listened to the news today, I was shocked to find out that it is not a crime to run from the police. I know someone who did, and faced charges in the legal system. Maybe that person should get a civil rights lawyer to go back and sue the city where they were arrested for false arrest. That person learned a lot from the experience though, and did not go on to repeat the behavior. Again, we are supposed to learn something from history and our experiences. Everyone, plays the blame game. Nothing is ever my own fault. Someone made me do it. He didn’t treat me fairly. I am a woman and I don’t get what a man gets. I want to go to college, but I don’t want to earn it, I want it handed to me because of what I am. It isn’t fair that I didn’t get accepted to the college I wanted to go to. It must be because I am not the right sex, color or religion. God forbid we would ever take stock of ourselves! Our own leadership, and I use the term “leader” sarcastically, often use their positions to benefit themselves and not to serve the people who elected them. It all makes it impossible for those who want to do things for the right reasons to be heard and to be productive. I have seen over and over again, people have cheat and lie and they not only get away with it here on earth, but they seem to prosper. It is tough to be a good and responsible parent, and try to raise your children to believe that right is still right. Our media has disgusted me this week. Not only during the riots and chaos of this week, but with celebrities and athletes and criminals, they give hours upon hours of attention to negative behaviors and events. How often do you see a real news story about the good things being done by people. It doesn’t sell newspapers and it doesn’t get your show watched. And that is our fault. We feed the people who bring us garbage and we ask for more! The media should have been following the same curfew as the rest of the people in Baltimore instead of giving them the spotlight as they did. We do need to take a hard look at ourselves, one person at a time. We need to remember what is good and right and start behaving in that manner. We have made a mess of things, we each need to make sure that we are part of the solution, not adding to the problem. Hope you all have a soul searching weekend. |
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