I'm traveling this week and just opened my email to a refreshing note from a high school friend. We were from rival schools and somehow along the way became friends. We both served in Vietnam and came from the same small area of north central Ohio. Jimmy stayed there and has his own business he's been running for years. I took off and moved 14 times our first 32 years of marriage, by the way, we just celebrated our 40th anniversary, and we settled in Montana.
Jimmy and I have remained loosely in touch and then with the Internet that has enabled us to talk a little more but its been sometime. He read my blog and sent me a note with a copy of a 'rant' he did to himself at 0300 one morning and shared with a few friends. I got his permission to share, I think you'll relate to the general frustration he eloquently shares ...
“I remember growing up in this country when you cited the Pledge of Allegiance, sang
America the Beautiful and set about the rest of the day learning reading, writing and arithmetic.
Summers were hot and winters were cold and that's what they were supposed to be. You
played baseball in the summer and played to win. You made snow forts and snowballs in the
winter and you played to win. You got up and let your elders set down, or wish you would have if your mom was around. You said please and thank you and meant it.
Soldiers, policeman and firemen were looked up to and the bad guys went to jail for a very long time. Good was rewarded and evil was punished. Politicians went to Washington to do the peoples work, came home and went back to work at the hardware store or the family farm. When I was 20 years old my country asked me to serve. I was a frightened young man from a little town but I knew that it was the right thing to do.
Now I'm older and those are just memories. You don't dare show your love for this country or sing a song about how beautiful it is. That would be boasting and cocky. Teachers used to teach kids how to think. Now they are expected to be the parents, sex educators, political advisors and the distributors of Gold Stars for everyone. Don't let Johnny know that Jimmy got a better grade or he might feel bad.
One of my grade school teachers cared dearly for her students and would give them a hug when they needed it. That would be unacceptable behavior now. Oh, by the way, she would give them a swat on the bottom when they needed that too and we know where both of those actions would have landed her in today’s system.
Here in lies the oddity of that. I know hundreds of people that grew up with that teacher and for the most part I can't remember one of them shooting up a school, bombing government
buildings or taking one pill after the other because they couldn't stay focused. Now cooler summers and warming winters are mans fault and not Mother Nature showing us that she is still in charge.
It's more profitable to blame man and say we have the cure and we'll sell it to the highest bidder. They used to call those people “Snake Oil Salesmen.” Games are played now with no winners, no pride, just the fact that I participated. Where is the incentive to go out and do your best, create something spectacular, save a life or serve your country when you can say “Well I participated.”
Manners, well forget that. You’re lucky not to get run over at the Black Friday Sale after
Thanksgiving of should I say, “Turkey Day”, no wait, we don't want to eat a turkey or give
thanks for our blessings.
As for the military we have a few in this country that give a lot of lip service but when it comes time to step up, all they have is the “Baby killers, Raiding Villages, Killing” innocent women and children. That's when they show their true colors. On one hand they say they support the troops but not the war. You can't sever the two. We have fought evil where ever it is and we pay the highest price. The minute we show we aren't willing to make those sacrifices we lose.
Policemen, border guards, FBI, and all of the law enforcement agencies have the
daunting task of keeping us safe and do it with one hand tied behind their back. Pull the trigger,
don't pull the trigger. Kill or be killed. Would you want to be in a position to make that decision
every day you go to work. And for that you get paid squat or thrown in jail with the ones you
put there. Why not give them a Gold Star and thank them for participating.
Now we get to the politicians. You can count on two hands the ones that still really
care what we think. It's all about the next election and what party rules. They pretend to know
what we want, what's good for us and how they can take care of us. That's not their job. This
country was growing, getting stronger, and leading the way long before the modern politician
hit Washington. That's because they weren't in the way. Let us take care of our own money.
We'll give it to the poor, the ailing and the ones that need a hand up.
Instead they want to give it to more corrupt politicians around the world and make us think that those in need are getting our help. Instead we are looked on as those rich Americans that don't help anyone. I'm just that guy you see mowing his lawn and cheering for his team, but I have so much fear in my heart for my kids and grandkids that this country has seen its glory days and we will fulfill the Communist prophecy that we will destroy our selves from within. It's happening in the dark of night in the Capitol of this great nation, in the courts, in the
colleges and in organizations fronting as those who are helping the poor.
We must not let this happen. Worship your God, give thanks, read the Constitution and hold the politicians to its words. Love your kids with hugs and swats to the bottom; they know what you mean by it. Salute the flag, don't burn it. Work hard and enjoy the fruits of your labor and know that if you want to share it with others that it your right to do so and not the governments right to take it from you. Lead by example and others will follow. Put God back in the country and open the door politely for the ones who want a country without God. Those places are out there and we can point the way.
This is a very crucial time and it's time to look deep into the sole of the person you're are
going to vote for. Don't listen to the words, listen to the deeds, listen to the character, listen to
their hearts, listen for the good of your country and not just what's good for you.
When I came home from Vietnam I heard that we were losing the war that I saw us
winning. People back home were listening to and believing those famous people on the news
that must be right because they are on TV. I should have known then that evil had taken on a
different look.
Talk to your friends, get the facts for yourself and make up your own mind. The guy on
the evening news is listening to his friends and telling you what they want you to hear.”
Jimmy Bates
Cambridge, OH
I dont have to add much - we just all have to commit to go and do something about this mess. Our ship is leaderless and has been for sometime and our kids and grandkids are going to pay the price. Got to get up and catch an early plane.
