Why...

going forward

The mom of these two nephews wrote the following, I think it bears repeating.

"To all the people whose behavior over the past 48 hours has been absolutely atrocious I just have one word for you? WHY? Why are your fears so much worse than mine were? Why is it ok for you to bully, to name call, and to generalize people who disagree with you as uneducated because they don’t share your beliefs or vote?

For the past two presidential elections the vote did not go my way, so YES… I can sympathize with your feelings of fear for the unknown, anger for the thought of how ANYONE can vote this person into office, anxiety over having an uncertain future for me, my family and my country. I know you are feeling these things because I have been there and I have felt them too but what I absolutely cannot wrap my head around is your behavior. It’s shameful….in the past eight years I have never picketed, rallied, or protested the leader the American people voted for. I never bullied or belittled others who didn’t share my same belief systems. I did not insult their intelligence because of our varying views. I did not blast disrespectful garbage about the president on every social media site possible. And most importantly I damn sure didn’t burn the American Flag.
I thought you were supposed to be the people preaching love and acceptance. I thought you were against hate…all forms of hate! But an election doesn’t go your way and the vile things spewing from your mouths, posted on your social media sites, and all of your downright embarrassing behavior leads me to believe you should probably sit down and do some self-reflection and maybe try practicing what you preach. For the past 8 years I have felt defeated, stifled, and often time hopeless yet I still did not react in hate. I did not call others with different political views and beliefs names or accuse them of being stupid or uneducated. I never hoped that the president would fail or even worse be assassinated, and I never NEVER stopped loving my country. You know what I did; I picked myself up, dusted myself off and prayed that the man the people elected could do the job because even though I didn’t vote for him nor did I agree with most of his views he WAS the people’s choice.
So it goes back to my original question…WHY? Why is it ok for you to behave poorly, say abhorrent things, and burn American flags when if the role was reversed you would crucify me and label me as un-American and racist or even sexist for doing the exact same thing you are doing now? It’s time to show some maturity…treat people with respect…Treat our FLAG with respect because a lot of people have died protecting it for you and me and they deserve better.
As for the President of the United States, it’s only been two days why don’t you sit back and see what he has to say and what he does for the country….let’s see if he can turn some of this mess around. At the very least conduct yourselves like the classy Americans I know you can be, and in the end if you still aren’t happy with his results at least you’ll have your righteous indignation to fall back on."  ~  B. Martin

 

Never Forget

Remember always that some gave all...

"It remains very much to be seen whether or not this nation will "long endure" as civilization's greatest exercise in personal liberty balanced by personal responsibility. Which is why the words of Abraham Lincoln on the constitutionally protected, individual-centric and equality-driven nature of that freedom - and the terrible, unfathomable and heartbreaking cost at which it comes - are just as meaningful, just as relevant today as they were nearly 150 years ago when they were first recited at Gettysburg.

Don't let the dead have died in vain. Use your freedom wisely. And have a safe and, hopefully, reflective Memorial Day weekend."
---Lieutenant Colonel Timothy G. Cook, MD

manners

Manners are a big deal to me. When my children were young they learned manners and respect, sometimes it was an easy lesson,other times not. They have taught the same to their children. Often today respect is not around much. Example: I recently went to a grand's school awards assembly. not near enough seating (poor planning on the admins part & could have been easily solved). There were a fair number of men and boys setting and not one offered his seat up. Now I may not look like the granny of seven, or need to be setting, but there were others that did. Come on grannies, speak up. I did to the gang tat Hispanic guy playing with his cell phone who was seated right beside where i stood.