Tag: American people

You Don’t Know Me

K

Today something bothered me that really shouldn’t have, but it did. I try to not let people’s opinions of me affect me in anyway. Usually I succeed. Today though a complete stranger made comments on comments I made to a friend and they did it without knowing the first thing about me, yet they felt free to berate me. Their attitude was one of superiority believing, I surmised, that they knew more than me and that their opinion mattered more than mine.

Needless to say I didn’t respond to the bashing and let my friend handle the situation as she wished since it was a comment conversation between just the two of us. Although that should have been the end of it, it still stuck in my craw all day.

I decided to rid myself of this annoying feeling and decided I needed to write this blog instead. The conversation’s subject was the plight of the recent attacks on Asian people and how these attacks are not widely published nor reported upon as loudly as other folks attacks are. My entire gist of this was empathy on my part and my belief that unity in this nation can only become reality when we truly accept one another.

For me no one race, no one religion is superior to the other for all of our pasts as immigrants have suffered through various atrocities and through the decades our lives have each improved enough to allow the same opportunities for each of us living in America. We may never be able to completely change our circumstances or our class but we all have the same opportunity to be decent and caring. We all don’t have to choose cruelty or criminality toward each other but if we do choose those ways then we risk becoming evil. The objection to my way of thinking was basically because I stated all lives matter, because to me they do. I don’t believe in blm because I don’t believe one race any race should think they are better or less than the other. I have always believed this way and will continue to believe it. The objector called me a hidden racist for this belief.

That person’s attitude toward me was that I was ignorant without empathy and had no right to state my opinion because of my belief. My first reaction was astonishment that someone got all that from something I stated honestly and from my core. I consider myself a strong empath with an open mind. So to see someone disparage my being with his words was truly something I wanted to defend, but out of respect for my friend I didn’t. I have lived my life accepting people for who they are as people, regardless of their mistakes or their background. I have opened my heart, my home, myself to people from around the world and America because it was the right thing for me to do. I would do it again if I was in the same position. I still offer my ear, my shoulders, my heart to people who turn to me in need whether I am able to afford it or not. I do not ask for anything in return. I think respect is earned not given. I believe in law and order. I believe in second chances. I also believe because of my lifelong experiences that evil exists as well as good. For me it takes a constant lifestyle of hurting and harming people to call you evil. For me there is no rhyme or reason for evil to still exist. For me this criminal and cruel behavior toward the innocent is illogical and stems from malice, ignorance, and hate. There is nothing wrong in my thinking for I have seen evil first hand just as I have seen good first hand. There is a distinct difference in the the two.

I also love my country because from what I have seen from places and people the world over, it is this country that gives hope and opportunity to anyone who seeks it. Have some Americans shown an evil side? Absolutely yes and our shame lies in those Americans. Yet I still see the majority of present day Americans who believe the same way I do and carry that hope forward with their strength and beliefs. I am baffled by many as well who think people who still believe in America have something wrong with them. I am confused by the superior attitudes and false ideas that somehow Americans are responsible for all the evil in the world today. If there was any truth to that we would have been destroyed many years ago by a higher power, but we haven’t been and my hope is we will never be for America can be everything it was meant to be by all those who held fast and acted righteously through the decades.

My final thought here is for people in this country to stop judging others without knowing them. Leave the judging out of your lives and instead start giving the benefit of doubt to those who express their thoughts wherever that may be. Don’t harm each other in anyway. Do that and we live to see another day. Be true to yourself but accept the premise courteously that others may not feel the same way. Believe in diversity in America because it is the very bane of our existence. Do not assume anything about anyone for there are generally reasons for the things people say and do, but do not allow that kindness to blind you from the evil that lives along side you. Evil cannot survive as long as goodness does not feed it.

And that is the Way I See It here in Jackson

K

I’m On The Outside Looking In

K

My education isn’t that of a scholar, as a matter of fact I never attended college officially. All of my knowledge stems from common sense and experiences. I have personally lived through the unbelievable traumas that most people only hear about. I can not recall a time in my life where it hasn’t been touched in some way by diseases; abuse of all natures; grief; depression; euphoric moments; absolute joy; and/or sadness enhanced by profound hurt.

Unfortunately, in the world we live in, none of that seems to matter without being accompanied by a lettered degree. So whenever I venture outside my comfort zone of silence and give an opinion or an observation it holds no weight. It dies where I placed it. Words are often not given the exalted praise of actions and yet, words are also assigned the title of culprits if others get hurt by them. I have always believed that words were powerful and the actions they start were solely reliant upon the interpretation of their associations. I love writing because it gives me the outlet I personally require to still the thoughts that race through my mind on a daily basis. Writing is my solace. Sharing my writing is the one way I hope will make a difference in this world, giving others an opportunity to see another way of looking at any subject that there is disagreement about. Perhaps I have never stopped being an idealist with pragmatic tendencies. Perhaps I take life too seriously or perhaps not seriously at all. My compulsion to write is unstoppable, I have constrained this impulse many times during my lifetime, however that time always surfaces to force my fingers to write what is heavily upon my thoughts. This again, is one of those times.

Many of my friends and family are different in their thinking. Many are college educated and still many are experience educated. I respect and admire both. Growing up in a blue collar family and working in both white collar jobs and academic jobs has opened my mind to all the infinite possibilities that exist in one’s life. Change is very possible if one truly wants that change before them. That is when it becomes one’s choice, provided their is no mental or physical obstacle that would affect their free choice. I am very grateful, regardless of my life’s traumas, that I chose to develop an open mind. I pride myself on my empathetic abilities and appreciate the wisdom that ability affords me to possess.

Many, who are institutionally educated, mock me, laugh at me, or hold no regard for my observations or opinions because they have a pre-conceived notion that because I hold no degree nor title I cannot possibly understand the mechanics of the way the world works. They actually have shooed me away as inconsequential on many different occasions. I do not let that penetrate the core of why I exist. Sometimes, like every other human being, I am dead wrong. Sometimes, like all others, I am right. I have found that counting the wrongs and the rights in life actually count for nothing in the end. What counts is intention. What counts is compromise. What counts is coming from a place of caring and concern. What matters is the realization that all human beings, regardless of education or not, are basically at their core, identical. That realization is hardly ever acknowledged due to millions of factors that interfere in believing that fact. I am one of the few that have been blessed with being able to see that realization and live my life hoping to give others the opportunity to see that fact as well.

Exposing myself to the probable possibility of more ridicule is a chance I often take knowing full well the consequence of my choice. However, not doing it, for me is worse internally. Many people think I am trying to persuade others to thinking as I do, but they would be wrong. My only intention is to share the way I see things so that perhaps one or two people might decide there is another way to look at things and in doing that change becomes very real for them if not for others. The way the world has developed through the open exchange of information has not only been beneficial, it has also been detrimental. You might ask yourselves, how could I say such a thing, or better yet who do I think I am saying such a thing? I believe in humanity, I also believe humanity is influenced greatly by circumstances, experiences and luck,hence their possibility to choose to do good or choose to do what most consider evil, is a reality that cannot be denied. Interpreting good and evil is once again subjective and relies heavily on the things aforementioned. My point in explaining my view is that judging another human being has no value unless every circumstance and every intention is so proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that a true conclusion can be drawn to force a judgement upon that human being. I have found that some judgements are arrived at too hastily, while others are proven accurate in every sense. I believe the free will we are endowed with at birth gives us the tools we may need later on in life to form such judgements, however their interpretations depend solely on life experiences, common sense and circumstances.

President Trump has been under scrutiny for the past three years. He is not an easy man to understand nor to like. His ways are not accepted by many, many people. Yet he was elected to be the leader of our country and our representative to the world. What he has proven to me is that, no matter what past mistakes he may have or has not made, the last three years he has lived up to the promises he made to the American people and he did so with compromises and above disagreements from the other government representatives. He has shown me over and over again, that despite his ego, he loves this country and appreciates the opportunities this country provided to him and his parents. He sees the same America I do, the American ideals that have shaped me, has also shaped him. Our life paths may be completely different, but our country binds us. The younger people of today have lived through a completely different experience than we have and have a very different set of ideals about America. The sadness I feel is for them. Many cannot see past America’s acknowledged mistakes. Many mock the religions for their atrocities and mistakes, that are in reality often ignored. Many believe capitalism is the evil and socialism is the hope. My worry is that they will never change their minds especially when they are encouraged by the hypocrites that feed their misconceptions about this country. I say this because I can see it and feel it. The very worse thing that could happen is if Americans both young and old continue to be unforgiving of their own country’s errors, America will no longer exist and the world will suffer from its’ demise. I do not need a degree to know this, nor are my eyes closed to the ideals of those who have that educational background. If they think, which of course I do not truly know, that America needs punishment for the involvement and errors that were made, I say we have been already in so many ways. We have had Civil Wars, have been attacked twice, have lost capitalism during the Great Depression, have lost countless men and women in our Military, and suffer everyday in some part of this country with poverty, starvation, homelessness. If we keep giving away what we need to survive to illegal immigrants just to appease our conscious, or continue to ignore Americans in our own country who are suffering in the ways I mentioned. If we continue to let elementary and high schools go without the means to succeed, if we disregard veterans and their families in order to praise those across the globe who are also suffering, we will lose our footing and our ability to help anyone anywhere. For to be truly able to care for others, we must first care for ourselves and that equates to caring for, protecting and respecting America no matter who represents it. President Trump, whether he shows it to all or not, knows this as well as I do. He, in my careful judgement, is doing all he is capable of to ensure that we take care of us so that we can take care of others. I owe him respect for that. I must support him for having these ideals no matter how imperfect he may appear to be. Yes, I am aware of how others judge him and blame him solely for the things they have judged him to have done. I watched, I listened, I read, and while I do not fully agree with his manner at times, I am able to see past the ego, and instead see that he truly believes this country offers everyone who really wants to be here, the opportunity to live in it, work in it, and become part of its citizen population. I also see, that like myself, he cannot bring himself to agree with those who come here to take advantage of the opportunities provided by America, just to continuously remind it of its past errors, hold it solely responsible for all the bad things across the globe, and benefit the country they fled from in the first place. I am not talking about customs and religions that are brought along with people to our shores, but of vile intentions that they wish to spread in the hope of displacing America’s idealism in the world. Especially because in reality America is one of a few nations that still offer its citizens unalienable rights and the pursuit of happiness.

So, yes that is who I am. I am not dumb, I am not blind, I am not a deplorable human being. All of those are facts about me. I like to write, I like to learn new things. I like people. I like animals. I love my family and my friends. I love and respect my country. I stand out of respect for the flag, the symbol of my country. I believe in freedom of choice, speech and expression, and religion. I believe we all need to believe there is something more powerful than ourselves such as God or the Universe, a mechanism for the human trait to be able to hold onto some type of hope when things are at their worse. I welcome compromise, understanding, and mutual admiration for what each of us has to offer the other. I am kind, loving and optimistically inclined. I am glad President Trump was acquitted and exonerated not only because of this call but because I know his intentions are good and his love of America is real.

And That’s the Way I See It, here in Jackson.

K

For the millionth time-ASSIMILATION

K

Well it happened again.  NYC was attacked by a terrorist who associated himself with ISIS.  This time a rented vehicle was the weapon of choice.  This time 8 people died and 11 or 12 were injured.  Yet the democratic and liberal party want to continue to blame America for the terrorist ideologies.  This person entered America in 2010 under the lottery policy within the American immigration system.  I have no doubt that some “vetting” was done, obviously not enough but some.  So I have to give the benefit of the doubt that perhaps this individual came to America without the intent to harm Americans.  However, the reason I believe he came to the decision to harm Americans was because he didn’t become American after arriving here and living here. Instead the Sharia Law was still in his life through his faith, his community and in his personal life.  Perhaps through using social media and watching videos over the Internet the country he left and obviously missed made a hatred grow inside of him for the country that gave him a new opportunity.  Yet this country  didn’t actually give him a new way to live.  Perhaps if America were no longer afraid and ashamed of itself this immigrant from the Middle East or Asia even, could have had the same chance and opening to come to love and appreciate America as most Americans do.

Our ancestors, some of our parents and grandparents had an entirely different experience when they arrived on our shores through sponsorship.  When they came they were encouraged to adapt to America’s ways of life, to speak and write English (the “common” language of this country) in much of the societal places,  to keep their religion and languages in their places of worship and their homes and in the similar communities they shopped in.  If they responded by learning to respect and honor the new country they came to then in return they would be rewarded through life with privileges and rights not found in their homelands. They would be able to get ahead if they wished to by working hard and earning more.  It was their choices to make as an assimilated American.  That all changed in the 1960’s.  That is when immigration policies under democratic control began to make the  changes in policy that still affects the rest of America today.  Those are the policies still in place along with others that say,

“Nah, you can live in this country, but don’t worry you don’t have to assimilate, you can bring your culture fully into this land and so what if with so many different cultures we as Americans lose our own culture that was established with the Founding Fathers.”

Which brings us through the years of non-assimilation to yesterday when another terror attack cost people their lives.  What is it going to take before the American democrats and liberals realize that non-assimilation leads to isolation for the immigrant that comes here looking for a better life?  By isolating immigrants and forcing them to continue believing in the ways that they recently left would be the beginning of the end of American culture.  It is the soul of immigrants and their longing for the ideals that the American culture offered to them that made America great.  The only way America remains a viable country is if the people who make her a country, assimilate to her laws, customs and practices. The way to keep America safe, prosperous and helping the world is to allow her to teach the immigrants who come here a new way to live.  Without giving immigrants that choice all you get are breeding grounds for the evil around the world, and the connection the immigrant longs for is found through terrorists’ ideologies and negative views about their “adopted” country.  Why is it so hard for democrats and liberals to see that?

Assimilation creates new communities where diversity can thrive.  Where one culture learns about another, where one religion learns about another, where people United by a common language and a common ideal with appreciation and respect can build a better country than the one that existed yesterday.  It has been done before with mistakes.  So why not try it again without the mistakes this time?  Let’s make assimilation the major course in the first step taken toward a better life for every immigrant.  Let us stop growing immigrants into becoming terrorists because of loneliness and isolation.  Let’s call on our reprentatives in the House and Senate to stand up and allow true assimilation the job it was meant to do — create new Americans.

And that is The Way I See It Here in Jackson.

K

This land is your land this land is my land

45th & Perception

K

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I cannot turn on Social Media or the Television without finding a negative expose about our 45th President of the United States of America.  My first thought about those statements about him from the Democrats, Liberals, Some Women and Some Young Men is wow they are saying “Pay back is a Bitch”. Only in the very next moment, I think, these poor people have no idea how much harm they are creating in the country that has given them everything they could ever truly want.

All of their protests, name calling, bashing, disrespect, hating won’t really change the world or even so much as make a dent in the corruption of politics nowadays.  All it is doing is causing a rift between the people in America who believe in America surviving or America dying.  Okay a bit dramatic there, but let me put it another way, America dying the way their parents and grandparents view their country.

I truly feel sorry for all of us.  America was not built to be a socialist country no matter how many arguments are out there about Social Security or some other earned credit program.    Many times people use that argument, but Social Security is not an entitlement it is saved earnings in every legal citizen’s paycheck.  Welfare, food stamps, SSI, medicare, medicaid they are entitlements or benefits if you prefer that word. But, I digress.  As I was saying, America was built through the ugliest word in the country today, Capitalism.  It is MONEY.  Money has driven us from the get go.  Whether we didn’t have any, or we had too much.  Money in today’s world is a dirty word because not very many people have enough money to live with the rising costs of everything.  People have forgotten that values are more important on your death bed.  If those you love will miss you is important.  America cannot survive without some kind of respect for money.  It will not flourish, it will decay and it will become a third world because there is not any idea out there that will take care of all the people that need money and care.

Our 45th President represents “money” and so the hate begins there. Some think he is somewhat “crude” in his speeches.  Some think he is getting down to join them.  Some think he is brilliant in his idea of being straight forward and not holding back any of the punches to the people he thinks may need them.  Some believe he is a racist.  (If anyone had the guts to admit it, there isn’t one person in all of the USA who isn’t racist, they are just too afraid to say it to themselves.  Most would never act upon that feeling, but everyone feels it and it has been inside of all of us for generations). Some believe he is an ego-maniac out only to benefit himself and his family and friends.  Some say he thrives on the power.  Some say, no, its the craving for popularity.  Some think he hates women.  Some think he hates anyone who isn’t a white male.  In the whole scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter what anyone thinks because he is sitting in the White House as the 45th President of the United States of America.  (It doesn’t but, that sentence alone should make all citizens stand up and take notice).  He is a leader in World Powers.  What he does affects the country and the world.  So far, I would say he hasn’t done anything at all to hurt this country or the World for that matter.  He is in office less than 100 days and yet, he has been given no chance whatsoever to show that he is worthy of the responsibility that three million or so Americans gave to him.

Now, I would say what about my fellow Americans? If you don’t want to accept the President and give him the chance he needs and has earned, then what about your neighbor who does, don’t you give a crap about them?  What about the Americans who still hold onto the vision of a majestic, beautiful America, don’t they have a right to appreciate their vision of America?  What about the Americans who would never harm another soul, but are angry at being harmed by people who come here, hate it, hurt it, or our friends and families, would you rather we condone and give right to terrorists from any country even those indoctrinated Americans?   If you are great socialists of the world who hate our President, why are you not caring enough as a “socialist” that you are making enemies of those who don’t hate our President? Do you ever think to give the President a chance to prove what you are claiming is actually true?  Maybe he will do all the awful things you claim in your social media posts and television spots.  Maybe he will be the worst President ever, (though I doubt that).  If he isn’t given a chance to show us exactly the vision and direction he has for America by getting legislation passed and America thriving again, you will have no one but yourselves to blame.  It won’t be his fault that you made his legacy by disrupting everything that he attempts to get done.  It won’t  be his fault if the country dies, it will be yours.

Most Americans believe in America or at least take advantage of all the good that is offered by America.  That is a good thing.  It is a patriotic attitude. Do you also believe that we live by the laws of America?  Because we do, the law and the Constitution show us what is right and just.  The laws rule us more than any one man or collection of men and women who represent us, the people.  No laws have been broken by the 45th President of the United States nor proven to have been.  No laws have been proposed to change anything that each American has rightfully gained through our struggles.  We always have a say, if we want one.  We write and/or call our representatives and we tell them, “no don’t pass that law, or no, that proposal is not good, please vote it down”.  We all have a voice that way.  We can do it without bashing each other because we have different feelings about a man.  We can all do it without disrupting our streets with meaningless protests.  We can all look deep, deep down into our hearts and give the 45th President a chance without using our own perception of what life is supposed to be, but rather how possibly it could be under the leadership of a person, who up to now has never waivered from his love of America.  Irregardless of anything he has personally done, he has never, ever said a hateful thing about the United States and since we all share this country and live as neighbors to one another, shouldn’t we at least give him a chance?  I know I will and until he proves me wrong, or my perception of him wrong, I will keep that promise to myself because I, too, love my country and would never choose its’ well-being and the well-being of its’ citizens over any other country on earth.

And that is The Way I See It, here in Brooklyn.

K

©Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Justice

K

imagesCount me among the naïve in the world because I still believe that the truth is the truth and no matter how one tries to cover it up, make excuses for it, or give that age-old comment that there are two sides to every story and then there is the truth, it is still the truth. For me justice and truth are partners. Married for life. In American society today, and perhaps even in the world, media and communication methods have evolved into a state of exaggeration, exploitation, and injustice and all for the sake of dollars and cents. Everyone seems to have forgotten what morals, honesty and forgiveness means. The media are most guilty of doing this and we as a society have enabled them to succeed by buying into all the sensationalism and thrills that they provide by coloring what is truth and in turn what is actual justice.

It troubles me that we are all forgetting that our country is based on “innocent until proven guilty” in all matters, regardless of circumstances. We are all so ready to be gullible and swallow all the hype without questioning its origins or ulterior motives. Very few of us has the courage anymore to stand fast and loyal to what we have been taught, to what we have experienced and most importantly to what we actually believe in our hearts. I am personally upset by the news all around me. All of the sensationalism has sickened me to the core.

Justice fairly distributed is an American pride. Where is it going? How do we get it back? What has to change in order to feel that pride again? It worries me that the future generations are being swept up in misguided ideals in such a quantity because of modern technology and communication that the very foundation, from which they have come, is so severely cracked that their entire lives will be slowly destroyed if it continues along this path. It has actually upset my balance of self just from watching, reading and listening to all the misguided virtues and untruths being tossed about in order to entice, tempt and devalue all the work that was done to build this country in the first place.  America is nothing more than a rebellious teenager in the history of the world and it is time she grew into the next phase of her existence by remembering her foundation, improving upon them and utilizing her mistakes, experiences and lessons to keep her earned title of the greatest country in the world.

  • America needs to remember the value of family and that today’s family is not the family it once was formed to consist of. Today’s family is any body of people who reside as one unit and take care of one another in whatever way possible. That family is the American family.
  • Our elected officials are elected to represent the consensus of the American people. They are not in those positions to form small dictatorships or private enterprises.  It is society’s responsibility to keep those representatives in compliance with their positions.
  • It is society’s responsibility to uphold the principles of our country’s constitution, including the protection of all people within the boundaries of this country who are participating in this country’s laws and regulations, customs and predominant language.  All American people inclusive of all races, creeds and religions have been given the rights and privileges afforded by that Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
  • Uphold the premise of “innocent until proven guilty” as the ultimate form of justice.  It is that very premise that will set us apart from all other nations and help us to grow and learn from our past indiscretions and outright wrongs.
  • The media are not the law of the land.  Justice, independence and integrity are the laws of this country.  Society controls the perception of these values and to me right now, they are lost in the misguided notion that media and communication are the scripts of the law and justice of America.  This age of technology has given us a great deal, but it has also taken a great deal from us.  The media is a place to report news, to entertain, to share.  It is no more than opinion in any way shape or form.  It is society’s responsibility to know that difference and to subscribe to it with that knowledge.  It is time to stop and take an assessment and realize that our rebellious teen ways must come to an end.

I am at a time in my life when I don’t believe I have that many more years ahead of me as those I have behind me.  My one wish is that I once again am allowed to see the pride in America rise.  That the justice I believe is the cornerstone of our great nation will once again shine as a beacon across the seas and she will hold her head high knowing that she has moved on from the past and has kept her foundation, while reaching the next phase of her existence and is stronger than ever and ready to embrace her future, free and independently as she was born to be.

And that is the Way I See It here in Brooklyn,

K