It's hard to believe that the year is almost over...Hell, that the DECADE is almost over. So much has happened over this past year that it almost seems surreal that it is almost over. We made history in electing a black President. We lost an important icon in the music industry.
Personally, I have recently lost someone who, while he wasn't really a close friend, more of an acquaintance, was still someone who touched my life. And I would never wish for anyone, even for my worst enemy, to go through losing a child for any reason.
There is so much violence and pain in the world and yet so many of us take so many things for granted and treat others like crap, unless it benefits ourselves. There are commercials at all hours of the day and night that beseech us to send money to children in Africa and other Third World countries to feed them, clothe them, give them a place to sleep, yet you never once see commercials about all the children that need help here in the United States. The U.S. is supposed to be the best country to live in. For hundreds of years, people have left their home countries and traveled the dangerous waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans just to come to the U.S. and say, "I'm here in the greatest country in the world, known for it's freedoms, it's acceptance of people who are different" and these people are happy to be here, even if the residents of the U.S. can do nothing more than shoot each other, sell harmful, illegal drugs to each other, say and do harmful things to each other, and treat immigrants, regardless of the person's country of origin, like that person is less than human, like that person doesn't belong here.
I know most of you have probably heard the expression "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me". Well, that's not true at all. Words are just one of the most harmful things that humans can do to each other, that is not able to be erased. Once the words are spoken, written, or even thought, the words cannot be taken back. And yet, people still seem to go out of their way to speak words to others, whether out of anger, pain, or spite, that can cause more damage than anyone could ever know.
I'm not sure why I am thinking all of these things on New Year's Eve, but these things have filled my head all day and there are some very valid points involved. Why is it ok to treat someone from a foreign country like he/she is less than human, yet people are so willing to have the U.S. government pull all of our troops out of Iraq and allow a new, possibly worse than before government take over? People in the U.S. are fine with wanting the President to pull troops out of Iraq and the Middle East, yet do they not understand that this course of action was put into play in Desert Storm and look where we ended up 10 years after the fact...right back where we were, because we didn't stay to finish the job. Because the 'bleeding hearts' of America somehow convinced the government to pull our troops from the area. This allowed the Al-Queda to take power and in 10 years, we were right back where we started, fighting the same war that, contrary to U.S. citizen belief, has never ended.
Sitting here writing this, I begin to think of all the people that I've lost, whether to death or just that person simply walking out of my life as easily as he/she walked in. I have no regrets in life, but there are things that I think about from time to time that make me wonder what the hell is wrong with the world? In 2008, Canada had 11 crimes, during the entire year, that involved guns or violent weapons. In that same year in the United States, there were 11,000. The count in the U.S. does not include domestic violence, school shootings, or anything of that sort, as these crimes are tracked alone. The U.S. newspapers and internet sites and television shows broadcast reports of the violent crimes involving firearms. Canada does not. There is not even a small blurb about a gun crime buried in the middle of the newspaper or internet site. Yet the American public continues to wonder what the country is coming to, what the government is going to do about all the gun crimes, what other countries may think of us. Yet no one, not one of us, has ever stood up and said, 'I'm not going to stand for this. I'm going to find a way to do something about this. I don't want to live in a country where the government, which has enough worries of its own, has to take care of something that the citizens can fix, if only everyone would work together.'
We want our government to step in and take over the schools that educate our children because we do not feel that the people in charge of educating our children are doing the proper job. Yet not one of us ever steps up and says 'Here's an idea on how to make this better.' We just want the government to come and step in and magickilly take care of every little thing that we don't like. When our children act out in school, we want our government to provide a program to 'fix' our children. What ever happened to parents being held responsible for his/her child's actions? If a child brings a gun to school that belongs to his/her parents, arrest the parents for having the gun within reach of the child. If a child is arrested for being part of a gang that committed a crime, arrest the parents of that child that did not pay enough attention to the child to make sure the child was going to school, was not getting into trouble. When we learn that our child has a learning disability, don't expect the school to provide a special classroom for the child to learn in. Work with the child at home instead of plopping the child in front of the television for hours on end, from the time school lets out until the child goes to bed. Whatever happened to parents wanting to be a part of their child's life, to make sure that the child does the best that he/she can do, learns what is taught in school and taught at home?
I know it probably sounds like I'm repeating myself, but I just don't understand people. They complain that the government hasn't done this or that, yet they don't try to find a way to try to change it themselves. If you don't like the government, move out of the country. Move to Afghanistan and see how you like it there. Move to Cuba and see how you like it there. Because if you aren't going to do something to help yourself, you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Personally, I have recently lost someone who, while he wasn't really a close friend, more of an acquaintance, was still someone who touched my life. And I would never wish for anyone, even for my worst enemy, to go through losing a child for any reason.
There is so much violence and pain in the world and yet so many of us take so many things for granted and treat others like crap, unless it benefits ourselves. There are commercials at all hours of the day and night that beseech us to send money to children in Africa and other Third World countries to feed them, clothe them, give them a place to sleep, yet you never once see commercials about all the children that need help here in the United States. The U.S. is supposed to be the best country to live in. For hundreds of years, people have left their home countries and traveled the dangerous waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans just to come to the U.S. and say, "I'm here in the greatest country in the world, known for it's freedoms, it's acceptance of people who are different" and these people are happy to be here, even if the residents of the U.S. can do nothing more than shoot each other, sell harmful, illegal drugs to each other, say and do harmful things to each other, and treat immigrants, regardless of the person's country of origin, like that person is less than human, like that person doesn't belong here.
I know most of you have probably heard the expression "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me". Well, that's not true at all. Words are just one of the most harmful things that humans can do to each other, that is not able to be erased. Once the words are spoken, written, or even thought, the words cannot be taken back. And yet, people still seem to go out of their way to speak words to others, whether out of anger, pain, or spite, that can cause more damage than anyone could ever know.
I'm not sure why I am thinking all of these things on New Year's Eve, but these things have filled my head all day and there are some very valid points involved. Why is it ok to treat someone from a foreign country like he/she is less than human, yet people are so willing to have the U.S. government pull all of our troops out of Iraq and allow a new, possibly worse than before government take over? People in the U.S. are fine with wanting the President to pull troops out of Iraq and the Middle East, yet do they not understand that this course of action was put into play in Desert Storm and look where we ended up 10 years after the fact...right back where we were, because we didn't stay to finish the job. Because the 'bleeding hearts' of America somehow convinced the government to pull our troops from the area. This allowed the Al-Queda to take power and in 10 years, we were right back where we started, fighting the same war that, contrary to U.S. citizen belief, has never ended.
Sitting here writing this, I begin to think of all the people that I've lost, whether to death or just that person simply walking out of my life as easily as he/she walked in. I have no regrets in life, but there are things that I think about from time to time that make me wonder what the hell is wrong with the world? In 2008, Canada had 11 crimes, during the entire year, that involved guns or violent weapons. In that same year in the United States, there were 11,000. The count in the U.S. does not include domestic violence, school shootings, or anything of that sort, as these crimes are tracked alone. The U.S. newspapers and internet sites and television shows broadcast reports of the violent crimes involving firearms. Canada does not. There is not even a small blurb about a gun crime buried in the middle of the newspaper or internet site. Yet the American public continues to wonder what the country is coming to, what the government is going to do about all the gun crimes, what other countries may think of us. Yet no one, not one of us, has ever stood up and said, 'I'm not going to stand for this. I'm going to find a way to do something about this. I don't want to live in a country where the government, which has enough worries of its own, has to take care of something that the citizens can fix, if only everyone would work together.'
We want our government to step in and take over the schools that educate our children because we do not feel that the people in charge of educating our children are doing the proper job. Yet not one of us ever steps up and says 'Here's an idea on how to make this better.' We just want the government to come and step in and magickilly take care of every little thing that we don't like. When our children act out in school, we want our government to provide a program to 'fix' our children. What ever happened to parents being held responsible for his/her child's actions? If a child brings a gun to school that belongs to his/her parents, arrest the parents for having the gun within reach of the child. If a child is arrested for being part of a gang that committed a crime, arrest the parents of that child that did not pay enough attention to the child to make sure the child was going to school, was not getting into trouble. When we learn that our child has a learning disability, don't expect the school to provide a special classroom for the child to learn in. Work with the child at home instead of plopping the child in front of the television for hours on end, from the time school lets out until the child goes to bed. Whatever happened to parents wanting to be a part of their child's life, to make sure that the child does the best that he/she can do, learns what is taught in school and taught at home?
I know it probably sounds like I'm repeating myself, but I just don't understand people. They complain that the government hasn't done this or that, yet they don't try to find a way to try to change it themselves. If you don't like the government, move out of the country. Move to Afghanistan and see how you like it there. Move to Cuba and see how you like it there. Because if you aren't going to do something to help yourself, you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
