Forgive me
father for I have sinned, it has been more than 4 months since my last column.
In that time I have had many thoughts of things to write about but the sloth in
me has won out. Also you may not have noticed the irony in the name of my
column but when I think about writing I think “What’s the Point?” Does anyone
really want to know what I am thinking? Does anyone care? And most of all, does
it matter or makes a difference?
Ah, I feel much better now getting
that off my chest. No wonder the Catholic Church has been so successful for so
long. Do whatever you want, give a small confession (and donation), then off
you go to do it all again.
Sorry, wasn’t planning on doing any
religion bashing but since I started lets continue for a moment. Here’s a
question. If there are a bunch of different religions, and they all can’t be
right, does that that mean that most of them are wrong?
I’m not a religious person and I’m
tolerant of the majority faithful that do believe, but it does bother me when
it’s put right in my face. There is one religious thing right now that’s been
bugging the hell out of me. It’s something that came out of nowhere and now
seems to be everywhere and to me it’s just ridiculous. It’s something that if
there really is a God, would he have the time to micromanage this? Would he
even care? It’s none other than “Christian Mingles Dot Com”. The website where
God in all his infinite wisdom will help you find your perfect match. Come on!
This is so wrong on so many levels. What bothers me the most is the segregation
aspect. I thought we were trying to be a more inclusive society. What happens
if a non Christian tries to use the site? And what’s next? Aryan Unite Dot Com
or Couples of Color Dot Com? Where does it end?
All that being said, I think the
Christian Dot Com thing is great marketing. So I have come up with the newest
gang buster on the web. Remember you saw it here first, introducing… drum roll
please. Christian Shoe Shop Dot Com, where God will help you find that perfect
pair. I just took the two most annoying commercials on TV and rolled them into
one, now that’s heavenly.
OK, enough with the joking. My
intention was to write a serious column because there was something in the
recent news that I just haven’t been able to get off my mind. With the constant
bombardment of news feeds on TV and the internet it’s easy to become numb to
the death and destruction that is all around us on this planet we call home. The
incident I am talking about is the killing of the two year old girl outside of
Detroit. She was shot in front of her father because the killer wanted her
death to be the last thing the father saw before he was also shot. The word
that keeps coming to my mind about this incident is “Barbaric”.
What I see happening all around me
is a decline in “Civility” and an increase in “Barbarism”. I don’t just mean
the kind of over the top brutal acts like in Detroit or even the crazy
beheading type stuff in the Middle East. I’m talking about what we see now as
common everyday actions. Things like spitting on the sidewalk or using S**t and
F**k in conversation (I’m guilty of this). Those are examples of crudeness and
disrespect for the people around you. Don’t get me started on texting and cell
phones, the level of disrespect for those around you is getting ridiculous.
A lot of you might think, what’s the
big deal? An F-bomb here a text message there, what’s it hurting? What it’s
hurting is our society’s ability to command respect by showing respect. You
know the old saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. We
are sending the wrong message to the impressionable children around us. Quoting
from Psychologytoday.com, “Studies have shown that incivility leads to
violence, unhealthy communities, and societies paralyzed by conflict and
political division”. That sounds like Detroit to me but it could also be anywhere,
even here in Winters.
So what can we do to hold back the
Barbarians and return to a civilized society? Simply, we have to provide a
sense of security and respect from and for all members of our society.
Including people like the killer in Detroit. How do we do it? Not sure, maybe
start by showing some respect and courtesy to those around us. Take off your
hat when you enter a building, swallow your goober when you’re out in public,
and for the love of God don’t answer your F**king phone when you’re at the
checkout counter.
To view the column in it's original form go to page 14 of the following link. Winters Express 7/31/14
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