Have been paying attention to the demonstrators in cities lately….those walking with signs and screaming and wearing masks…..When stopped by network news and asked why they were there and what they were demonstrating for, the answers came 5’5″ tall children……They liked to yell into the camera mostly with answers like….’we are tired of this’……’we want to be heard’…..’they can’t ignore us now’……’we’ve had enough’…..’no more killing of innocent people’, etc, etc.
This will be short……..not one person has a plan…not even a bad plan. No one pulls out a type written list of how they think their town, or county, or state should go about making a change. Phones are not ringing at city hall…asking to have special meetings with the police, mayor, or the city council. No groups are meeting regularly to review the outcome of past court cases involving racial overtones.
There are not groups contacting lawyers and putting together enough money for retainers, to look into past wrongdoings.
There are very few who say that some people of color and some Caucasians actually did break the law, by not following the law, being on drugs, drunk, or stealing…..that crime does actually occur by locals who want to do the crime.
Someone in those groups need a 5 minute plan….a week plan, a something plan on how to make a difference…….or……maybe….. that’s not what they really what they want to do after all.
We are in a holiday season in these states, that celebrate many victories. Thanksgiving came about only because of people being dissatisfied with their former government, their ability to make a living, and how they were denied the opportunity to practice and preach their own personal beliefs.
These ways of life were so important to families across the Atlantic..that they gambled their entire lives to pursue liberty and a democracy. Today, if we re-read the stories, we are reminded of strife of hunger, disease, and frustration.
Celebration came when change came….and change was separating government and religion, respecting others rights (as Jesus and other leaders spoke of) and, again, learning to live together.
Some days it is evident we have come a long way….the road has been rocky, ugly, and bloody, but those before us, being united for common goals, have constructed a foundation to guide us for years to come.
Democracy…..allows us the freedoms to choose how we live, under a series of
laws created in all of our best interests. Since we did not come to these shores ‘united’, we have and are still learning to live together.
Racial tension and religion seem to be the toughest to deal with. In 2 or 3 more generations, it is my opinion, racial problems will be a thing of the past. Our youth, for the most part are blending into one beautiful and content group and I am so proud of them.
Fairness, however, is sorely lacking, as seen by outbursts in Ferguson, Mo., Oakland, Ca., and other cities. It warms my heart to see neighbors beginning to help neighbors by talking, cleaning, and preparing as a unified city begins to heal.
So as we all begin tomorrow, when we hear the latest on CNN and FOX, let there be a pledge to remember others……remember those who have lost family members to violence, and chose not to take to the street. Remember those who have lost family members to drugs and chose not to blame blindly. Remember those who have lost family members to gunfire from unknown origins, and chose not to burn their stores and hurt the innocent.
These are also the suffering, who painfully live their daily lives just as lonely and distraught as the families in Ferguson, and Oakland, and Detroit.
We have laws, we have our vote, we have our neighbors, and our church. It is kind of like receiving a recipe from a friend and finding out it isn’t as good as they said…..just because you have the recipe doesn’t mean you have to use it over and over. If it’s bad, it’s bad, get a new recipe….Same with your town, your city council, your neighborhood, and yes, your kids.
It’s time…..like getting the baby to sleep all night by letting them cry themselves to sleep. You’ll feel guilty, won’t like the screaming, and the following of rules, but that too will pass, and like the baby, it will be quiet once again.
Ferguson is just one of the towns in this United States that needs to feel better about itself.
Towns grow and stop and some even fail. Years change the people, the jobs, the drive, I’m sorry to say. They breathe with history but become sickly when families, factories, schools, volunteer groups, health care, and dreams wane.
However, that seems to be the least of problems for some towns….because when anger, miss-trust, and the ‘you owe me because I can’t have what others have’ belief becomes an everyday occurrence, it is a sentence of eternal strife…never growing, never going away, just stagnant.
The life of any village is its people, and their striving to achieve. They are proud, they are caring, they are determined, and they respect their history. How many towns do you drive through that are 500, 1000, 4000, 9000 people….and have been for 150 years!!! They did not come to this moment without working, believing, creating, bonding, and achieving in a united way.
Attend city council meetings all over and you will see people….working, planning, and looking forward to successfully helping each of residents. Of course you will hear different opinions of how to complete these goals….but, in the end, (most of the time) all will benefit.
Go look in the mirror……it starts with you, then you and someone else, and someone else and so on.
It starts with realizing basics….abiding by the law, respecting family and neighbors, realizing that you must do your part, that your parents, family, town, and state, no longer want carry you!
Did those people burning Ferguson care about Ferguson? Don’t think so…..How many had finished high school….and if unable, how many had gone to vocational training, or joined the service of the USA. How many had seen to it that their folks were okay that day, that there was food on the table for their kids. How many had sought jobs, any job. How many had seen to it that their birth control was taken care of, or that of their sons and daughters that chose to be ‘free’ with sex.
When looking for work, how many sought assistance in knowing how to look, how to speak, how to respect the job offered, regardless of how menial. And how many took the job, because it was a start, to a better place in life, regardless of how difficult the climb.
If you did, I and many others salute you….If you did not….begin today to better your life….In doing so you will better your family, your reputation, and your self-esteem. Will it be easy? Hell, I say Hell no! Will you enter into a new phase and be proud to look in the mirror. Hell, I say Hell YES!!
It is time….right now…Do not disrespect what others have died for…..you have this wonderful opportunity to carry on the living history of your life and your surroundings.
If I lived in Ferguson, Mo…..was any age, including over 18 and lived at home or close by, there would have not been a chance in hell I would have been allowed to participate in that brawl. I don’t care if they were 100% right, I would have been at home! My parents would have announced to anyone under their roof that they were to stay at home, stay out of the mess, ‘downtown’ and if they didn’t,mmmmm…mm…mmmmm, if ya know what I mean. Let it be known that my parents never beat me….and were never abusive. However, there were times when the fly swatter was not used for flies.
I was taught that being in a mob….defacing anything, (and that included soaping windows at Halloween), yelling at people, using bad words, and in general, embarrassing the family, was totally out of the question.
I was never told, but ‘asked’ when I would be home when I went out….I said a certain time and I was home by then. If something occurred (legally), I called….they respected me and I them. Didn’t have to, but I did.
Don’t tell me my parents didn’t have control….regardless of my age. At first it was the law, then control, and then it became respect. Respect for my family, my neighborhood, and my town. My friends and I say, of course there was a certain amount of fear….there has to be. Fear came in to play when I was little and continued til it became respect and the ‘right thing to do’. That doesn’t mean fear of pain…it means fear of being a fool, and making your family look foolish.
If I would have done the least of what those kids did….I would have been down there first apologizing, then with my broom picking up the mess, then with my money replacing all that was damaged, then with my body working there to pay anything else off, and then, under my mother’s guidance, putting an article in the paper saying how sorry I was to have hurt the people and businesses in the town I lived in.
Parents of those in Ferguson, Oakland, or anywhere else destroying becomes the way to ‘fix’ unrest….get out the broom. If you don’t want a 100% white police force, work in your city to get a majority black police force. If you think there is no work…finish school and be marketable. Showing yourself like last night will certainly not get you hired where a good reputation counts. Wear clothes that make you ‘classy’ instead of ‘assy’. No one should be without wonderful clothes….there are racks full in great thrift shops. Oh yes we do….buy stuff there for us and our kids.
Work in your church….for nothing….get out the broom again, keep the grass mowed, help those who have less, have more.
Notice I haven’t said anything about staying out…drink’in, drugs, etc. Give me a break, if you are doing what you should be, you won’t have time.
My mother-in-law said ‘Nothing good ever happens after the sun goes down’……amen
Jonathan Gruber…..what do we do with him….what do we do with his statements? Sorry to say, we listen and listen closely. Correct what should be corrected….pay attention to how the system has worked in the past and see that it changes. People like Mr. Gruber are not new to the scene. However, people who come clean are—-no matter what the venue.
I’m sorry to say it is my opinion that ‘yes’ some people are stupid. Stupid hurts just like breaking the law of morals and ethics hurt.
Mr. Gruber should be asked how all of this came to be….then heads should roll….and new ‘Mr. Grubers’ should come to fix it. When I mean ‘new Mr. Grubers’ I mean those men and women who are smart, able in their profession, with honorable thrown in. His actions should be examined and he should be forthwith when it comes to solutions to those actions. Don’t toss him…..bring him around to the side of what is in the best interest of all US citizens. If he (or anyone else) comes to the conclusion they cannot be part of that solution, it is then time to move them out.
Voters need to pay attention, starting today, of what their vote does. Behind the scenes employees should be culled if they are doing wrong…..Look at VA….it will take years to clean up that mess….unless laws are changed to let superiors release, fire, or layoff those do a bad job….
A lot of officials start out in our local city and county….and some rise higher than their level of responsibility. Just because the name is familiar in your county, state, or government does not mean they will work on your behalf. Start to read, listen, notice the small print, watch how they voted and what intelligent, stupid, or responsible statements they make in front of the camera, to get the next vote.
Sorry voters, it is our stupid, uneducated, or just plain lazy way of watching over our democracy.
Begin today to be accountable….and to hold those you vote for, accountable.
seriouslyscorpio 