Role Models?

   So far this day I've read two articles by sportswriters in two different cities concerning athletes exerting their influence to aid the cause of social change.

   While it may be true that young people by the millions idolize professional athletes, they are hardly role models. Ninety-five per cent of Americans don't come within the same galaxy as far as income; these athletes, for the most part, can't/don't/won't understand the 40-hour plus work week and the struggle of common America to keep a roof over the heads of their families, put food on the table and keep them clothed. Major sports athletes don't worry about the cost of health insurance, working two jobs to make ends meet or being able to buy a decent, safe car for the teenage driver in the family.

   The real role models for our youth should be found sitting across the dinner table from them in the form of their hard-working parents; they should be found in our religious leaders; they should be found in those that educate our children and those that protect our country for less than a fraction of what professional athletes spend on their wardrobes.

   But they don't bother to look in those places.

   They're too busy keeping up with all the social media platforms, inundated daily...no, hourly...by tweets/posts covering everything from the Kardashians to Pokemon Go while at that dinner table, staring at their phones the entire time. They're sitting in front of a video game console for hour upon hour upon hour, demanding every new version of whatever game they play as soon as it comes out. They listen to 'music' endorsing violence, crime and drug use, following every social media blurb issued by those 'artists'.

   And now these athletes and artists are going to influence our social mores?

   God help us.

   Seriously...God help us all.

Dangerous times...

Days of rage. That's what these are, misguided as they may be. Police officers are being shot on an almost daily basis for actions of a microscopic few who also just happen to wear badges.

As I said in an earlier post, I don't know all the facts surrounding the police shootings of two black men in two different areas of our country; I will not indict the officers involved because of that.

There are two sides to every story. Sometimes there are three. Victim, suspect...and the actual truth.

I DO know that three more police officers were shot and killed in Baton Rouge yesterday morning, and a fourth is struggling to survive. They were shot by a Marine veteran who was black, ostensibly in retaliation for the deaths of the aforementioned victims at the hands of police. But here's a question: where is the rage when a black American shoots another black American, an act that occurs much more frequently?

This senseless violence, no matter the race of the victim or the person responsible, has got to stop. Now. Today.

It is a divisive force, one that will shatter the unity of those of us who are proud Americans if left unchecked, and it is up to US to stop it. Vengeful, hate-filled rhetoric from activists and transparent attempts to blur truth need to cease.

I am fearful that it won't. I am fearful that the violence will continue, now with the city of Cleveland, this week hosting the Republican National Convention, in its cross-hairs.

I pray for the safety of law enforcement officers, convention delegates and attendees, even those who will protest the convention.

Pray for peaceful times.

Responsibility

Moral. Ethical. Emotional. The list is endless.

Add 'racial' to that list.

Racial responsibility? Yes. We, as a nation, are allowing dividers, 'fanners of the flames', as it were, to interlace the fabric of this American society with threads of discord, discontent, divide and anarchy. Those that weave these threads of  upheval within this nation's populace do so for their own gain, for without cries of racial injustice they would be without means of personal advancement.

I would not suggest that there are no injustices concerning law enforcement because that would be a lie. There are, without doubt, people wearing badges that should not be; there are police officers in positions of command that should not be, just as there are politicians, judges, doctors, attorneys...even auto mechanics that have no business engaging in those professions.

I do not know all the facts surrounding the shooting deaths of the two black American citizens in Minnesota and Louisiana, but it seems the police officers involved have already been tried and convicted in the court of public perception. I say 'perception' with purpose, because even the media does not have all the facts surrounding those cases, yet some still put forth information that is incomplete or even completely untrue. We are a nation founded on the principle of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. Until the facts of these two cases are brought forth in that forum I will remain neutral. If the officers involved are found guilty, however, they should be punished justly and swiftly.

There are black Americans, white Americans...Americans of every color and race. These United States, this country that has time and again fought for the rights you and I enjoy every single day, needs to come together as one people...Americans all.

Heartbreak. Rage. Sorrow. Justice

.

Four words that, right now, dominate my thoughts in the aftermath of the Dallas shootings/executions.

I am heartbroken for the families of the as-of-now five fallen police officers; families that now have vast voids in their fabric. I am heartbroken for the officers struggling for their lives in Dallas-area trauma centers, shot as they provided security for peaceful protesters/marchers by misguided monsters in elevated positions; the very fact that they had chosen such locations indicate prior planning and calculation. I am heartbroken for the law enforcement community as a whole, who now suffer yet more tragedy. I am heartbroken for our nation, as now in the aftermath we will be subject to political and media saturation of this event from every angle. There will be some that will call the deaths of these heroes of the badge revenge for recent shootings in Minneapolis and Louisiana of black men by police…no matter what those investigations reveal.

Rage. Rage resultant of the actions of a very few that stain a whole class of people, be it police or citizens. Rage that festers in the hearts of those who believe that shooting police officers is justified. Rage that some in the media will stoop to new depths in an effort to get that one interview, that one exclusive…no matter how it affects those grieving families. Rage that liberal politicians will use this incident to advance their agendas calling for stricter gun control laws and a ban on what they refer to as ‘assault weapons’.

I am sorrowful for our nation because this shooting of police officers will create yet more divide, divide as a result of political maneuvering, professional race-baiting and those whose stringent voices calling for just this type of action against police are given platforms by the media from which to spew their hate over a much wider audience.

Justice, in at least one instance, where one of the shooters took his own life after being cornered by police. Three other suspects are in police custody; it remains to be seen how/if they are connected to this tragedy. Justice, in most cases, moves slowly. We must be patient, for justice will prevail in the end.

Pray for our nation.

One year ago...

...I was in the Intensive Care Unit at Mount Carmel East hospital in Columbus. The day before I'd had a third of my left kidney removed because it was cancerous, small-cell renal carcinoma being the correct term for it, an aggressive form that shows no symptoms until it spreads to the liver and lungs. I started bleeding pretty badly during surgery, to the point that I received six units of blood to replace what I lost.

I was lucky.

They'd caught it early, while it was still totally inside that section of the organ. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be writing this right now.

There IS a silver lining, though, in the form of 'lessons learned'; I don't take life for granted anymore. Family and friends are more important. I don't let small things bother me nearly as much. The sky is bluer, my wife's touch is cherished even more than before. People, no matter how small a space they have in your life, matter. I appreciate what I've been blessed with, though I'm not wealthy. I have all I need to get me through this journey I'm on.

Today matters, too. Do something with it, something positive and uplifting.

My First Story Has Been Published!

You can read it here: http://narrative.ly/i-was-a-cop-for-31-years-this-is-the-one-night-that-still-haunts-me/

Technology

How lazy has our society become when we need our refrigerator to connect with our smart phone so we can see what’s inside?

Apparently the Samsung Corporation, headquartered in South Korea, thinks today’s kitchen appliance consumer is a pretty shiftless bunch, because they’ve sunk enough cash into their ‘Family Hub’ refrigerator to pay off the national debt of Bolivia.

We can’t put our Galaxy 7s down long enough to walk to the refrigerator; instead we can decide between yesterday’s meat loaf or those three slices of pizza from the comfort of the recliner, thanks to those wonderful cameras Samsung installed inside its glorified icebox/laptop combo.

However, due to the smart interface and screen monitor Samsung slapped on the outside of the upper right door, you can stream music, watch videos, shop or just surf the ‘net while waiting for your toaster to eject its crispy, hot bread for breakfast. And get this … now you can tell if you’re out of butter or jelly without opening the ‘fridge door!

We ARE becoming the Jetsons.

Samsung has created a Fridge Too Far.

Next we’ll have cameras inside the cupboard doors to tell us if we need more Rice Krispies or we’re out of sugar. Then someone will figure out how to hack our bathroom cabinets; the last thing I need is for some guy living in his Mom’s basement outside of Prague knowing that I’m almost out of Q-Tips.

Our toilets will have under-the-rim sensors, interfaced with the new RollHub dispenser, so that we don’t use too much toilet paper…and you’ll be able to check the toilet paper roll status via your smart phone.

I mean, after all, we now have smart beds to tell us via our smart phone just how well we really slept, don’t we?

I’m living in a world I don’t understand… and yes I DO want the 70s back.