I write a Christian blog and I was writing a post about Israel that required me to do some research into it’s history. The research I did provided some real interesting information and I thought I would share it here.
It’s interesting to read that the whole Gaza Conflict is nothing more than a sibling rivalry between Abraham’s first two offspring.
Click here if you’d like to read it.
Every day I read what is happening around our country and it makes me so…angry. I’m angry that too often too many people can’t look past the ends of their own noses to see how their thoughts and actions are impacting those around them, their communities, and the country as a whole.
So here it is, my list of things (in no particular order) that could help make the country a better place if people would only do them…or stop doing them as some of the cases may be.
1. Disagreeing with Obama or the results of the George Zimmerman trial DOES NOT make you a racist. I can not tell you how many times I have sided with the factual evidence and been called a racist because the facts went against something the African American community was supporting.
2. Stop putting the blame on somebody/something else and accept that sometimes people just screw up. Liberals want to blame the Republicans, the Republicans are blaming the Democrats, and everybody blames the guns. What the hell?!?!?! Guns don’t kill people….stupid people kill people and if they didn’t have a gun they would just find some other weapon with which to accomplish their mayhem. Responsible, legal gun owners SAVE lives. There are statistics to back this up (refer to http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ABo7Dg4gQTg).
3. In line with #2 above, start taking responsibility for who you are, what you have, and what you do. “The government owes me money cause I’m a minority.” “I deserve this because so-and-so has one.” “The state owes me ’cause I’ve got 4 babies and another one on the way”. Okay, from someone who grew up in poverty with parents who couldn’t give me anything except love, let me tell you something – nobody owes you shit! I grew up wearing ratty, tattered clothes, living in a trailer that probably should have been condemned, and spent many, many nights doing my homework by flashlight because our power had been shut off. My dad had polio as a child and it left him disabled, but the government denied his claims for disability. My mom worked herself sick, sometimes up to 20 hours a day, just to be able to feed me and my two half brothers (Dad’s from a previous marriage). We were thankful for what we had and NEVER thought that somebody owed us anything just because we had things tough. Instead, my parents used our dismal circumstances as reasoning as to why getting an education is so important – so that I didn’t have to live that way. Now, I’m 2 semesters away from my Masters in Social Work and I tell people everyday that each of us has the ability inside of us to change our paths and become who we want to be. And if you’ve got more kids than YOU can take care of, stop having them. Birth control is free – there is no excuse for mass reproduction than ignorance and a continued desire to leech off those who are trying to survive on their own.
4. For the love of God, EDUCATE YOURSELVES about what’s going on around you. Too often people are complacent to just sit back and allow their lives to be controlled by others that they ASSUME will make the best decisions for them. Don’t bet on it. People are motivated by money, even those who have supposedly taken oaths to protect us. Our elected officials do not answer to us, they answer to the pharmaceutical companies, the lobbyists, and the unions. Don’t expect them to have YOUR best interests in mind simply because you voted for them. Follow the money and you’ll find out who your officials really answer to.
5. Tying in with #4 above, don’t believe everything the media tells you. As someone who’s married to a 25-year veteran news editor for a local television station, I can tell you that a human being determines WHAT goes on the air and what ANGLE it is approached from. If you have a liberal news producer, your conservative story is going to get ZERO publicity and vice-versa. There is no such thing as “unbiased” in the media, so if you want the full story go to multiple sources and research it from multiple viewpoints.
6. Get off the fence. The primary reason this country is in the state that it’s in is too many people choose NOT to do something about it. People, things don’t just miraculously work themselves out. It takes effort, work, and most of the time a good bit of compromise from both sides, but sitting on the fence gets us nowhere. My dad always told me, “You have no right to gripe about something unless you first try to fix it.” Smart man. Quit complaining that crime is too high and start demanding stricter sentences for repeat offenders. Stop complaining that we spend too much tax money on prisons and start demanding an alternative. I personally think they should bring back the gladiator games for death penalty inmates and provide the prisoners with a choice – immediate carrying out of their sentence by means of lethal injection or a chance at a 5-year reprieve if they win the gladiator games. Charge for viewing rights for the games and use the money to fund the prisons, using whatever funds are leftover to fund education. It’s a win-win for everybody – prisoners get a choice, communities become safer, and the economy gets a boost.
7. Agree to respectfully disagree. Everybody has their own personal beliefs and values, and no one person’s is better or more important than the next’s. Provided one person’s beliefs do not endanger or harm others, I say let them be. I am a Christian. I believe in Christ as my Savior and I believe in God the Father. That does not mean that you have to believe the same way. I respect you as a human being regardless of whether you believe the same as I do or not. Jewish? One of my best friends is Jewish. Atheist? Yep, friends with those too. The only people I have issues with are those who condone/demand human suppression and violence to support their beliefs (such as members of Westboro Baptist Church and Sharia Muslims).
8. Practice random acts of kindness. Oh how much better the world would be if each of us did one act of random kindness every day.
9. This is America, we speak ENGLISH….not Spanish, not Portuguese, not ebonics, and definitely not the “lazy English” being spoken by many young people today where they’re slaughtering the English language by being too lazy to properly enunciate all of the syllables. Do not speak like that and then get upset when people can’t understand you! And if you are someone who has a speech impairment/impediment, this in NO WAY applies to you and I will do everything within my ability to accommodate and help you.
10. Perspective and respect. People need to spend a little more time thinking about how they would react if someone did to them what they’re about to do. How would I feel if someone pulled up next to me with rap music blaring profanity so loudly that my two young kids in the backseat can still hear it even with the windows rolled up and our own music playing as loud as is safe for our ears? How would I feel if someone else refused to control their children and let them run loose all over the store, getting into everything and breaking things, and even tripping people by darting out right in front of them? Common sense is a dwindling commodity in this country. Let’s say we bring it back.
I’m sure others have great ideas about ways we can improve the country. These are just my suggestions that I think would get us back on the right track. They may offend some people, but I’m just trying to do what my daddy taught me….
“You have no right to gripe about something unless you first try to fix it.”
Realizations, Ruminations, and Life 