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Monthly Archives: January 2009
Obama and the military
If there was ever any question about where our new President stands on the military, consider it answered as of 21 Jan (I am writing this on the morning of 22 Jan.)
Opting to make appearances at all the balls that had the big names in attendance, where the stars and celebs were going to be, he made it perfectly clear that his best intentions where not to the true Heroes of America, but to the Heroes of his pocket book and the people that he has prostituted himself to for the last two years.
Citizen Obama chose to not attend a ceremony that has been part of the presidential inaugural tour since Dwight Eisenhower. A Ball that honored the recipients of the Medal of Honor. This is not just a medal, this is given to those that have done something extraordinary in the service of the country and, in some cases, gave all for the country. This is a ceremony, by which attending, the president pays his respect and honors all those who have earned the right to wear it.
Citizen Obama chose, instead, to shun all those Heroes and visit those that HE probably considers heroes. Those would be the people that added the most to his campaign fund and helped him get to where he is. He does not seem to have any respect to those who have given as much as their lives in the name of his right to become President.
Maybe I am expecting too much. But if this is any sign of what we can expect from Obama, then this presidency is off to a poor start. It will be interesting to see exactly how many other traditions that he scorns, shuns or otherwise ignores.
Are we hostages to our parents dreams?
As we are growing, we are taught by out parents that we need to succeed. That we can be whatever we set our minds and hearts to. That there is nothing that we cannot accomplish if we set our minds to. In fact, at least in my time, parents even told us that we could be president… I am not sure that is something that many people see as a noble career these days, though.
I wonder, though. How much of what they are telling us is to try to make up for what they were never able to accomplish in their lives. Things that they wanted to achieve, but were unable or unwilling to try for. Thusly holding us captive to their dreams, albeit most of the time this entirely unintentional.
For those of you out there that are parents, I think you know what I am talking about. I also know that it is no bad reflection on parents for wishing this on your children. My mother wanted these things for me, and I am sure still does… I am not, however, sure about my dad, but I have to think that both of them wished the best for me and hoped that my achievements in life would surpass theirs. I would like to think that I have done a pretty good job of raising me or instilling in me a sense of purpose, discipline and right & wrong.
There is also the things we learn from our parents by watching them. Through our lives we will watch out parents, as well as other adults around us, do both good and bad things. We learn through that as well.
To return to the original question… Are you and I being held hostage to our parents dreams and aspirations?
My answer is Yes… to a point we are. I think that throughout our years, from youth to old age, we continuously ask ourselves what our parents might think of what we are doing and where we have ended up in life. Was it at least close to where they were hoping that we would be? Would they be proud of us?
I think that there is actually something magical about this, in a way. Whether by design or by coincidence, we or they are creating a set of internal checks and balances that keep us heading in what we hope to be the right direction. In a way they, our parents, our guiding us through our lives, even when, in the fullness of time, they are no longer with us.
As for the “hostage” portion of the question… I think that is what I would call a “self imposed hostage crisis” for which we have no one to blame but our own sense of guilt and honor. We all tend to be more critical of ourselves than are others and think that we are much more so than our parents are or were… even in our old age, we hope that they would be proud of what we have become. So in that sense, we are holding ourselves hostage to their hopes and dreams.
I was inspired to write this piece after listing to a song by Mike and the Mechanics called The Living Years. There is just some music that prompts me to deep thought, and they are one of those groups. I encourage you to buy the CD and listen to the songs. There is a lot there to motivate and to help you reflect.
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My rage at a father’s betrayal
Rarely will you see me write a piece out of anger, but there is something in the news that has kinda pushed me over the top.
If you have recently been watching, reading or listening to the news, then you may have heard something about the recent rash of deaths that have envolved a father killing their child or children. I know that this is nothing new, and that fathers are not the only ones that are guilty of crimes like that that have happened through history. There have been many cases where Mothers, children and various other members of the family have killed one another.
What drive a father to kill his children and family as in the case of the Ervin Lupoe, who ( allegedly ) came home after losing his job, killed his children and his wife. Then there is the story of Miguel Ruiz, who beat his 6-month old baby and mortally wounded it, whilst the mother stood there and did nothing. What about Sharome Frazier, who shot his son then himself. Lastly there is the, now famous, case of the man dressed as Santa who raided a party and killed six people.
If I had to say that there is anything that I would truly classify as a sin… the ultimate sin, it would be the mortal betrayal of your children in a matter that would leave them dead and many many others hurting from the loss.
I understand pain. We all have experienced pain in some way or another. Unfortunately, that is just part of life, being human and you have to learn to live with it. Pain is a force that should teach us to try harder and keep trying. Pain is not something that you use as a cheap excuse to go out and kill the ones that you, supposidly, love and cherish.
Many of these people, these cowards, commit suicide after they have completed their task. Do they think that this is making something right? That in some last minute moment of self imposed justice they are setting the scales right and balancing their errors? No… they are taking the easy way out because they are too weak to face the facts of what they have done.
I would really like to know something, though. If the final intent was for them to kill themselves the entire time, as I am sure is the case in some of these crimes; why kill all the other people? Why not just take their own lives and let their family and children live on?
In closing, I do hope, for the sake of these idiots, that there is a hell…Â because I would have to think that there is a special place in it for people who would do this to the ones that they profess to love.
If there are people out there reading this… people who are even entertaining the slightest thought about doing something along these lines and have somehow come across my site and are reading this. Do the world a favor. If you are thinking along these lines, get your ass to a doctor and have yourself commited. But if you feel that you have gone beyond that, then leave your family alone and just wax yourself. They might still want to live their lives, even if you do not.