On May 8, 1996 at 10:01pm my life changed in a way that words cannot describe. For the first time in my life, I had learned what real love for someone was all about and how it felt. As I looked in to the eyes of my first born, my beautiful daughter, I realized that life was not about me and that love would make me do things I never imagined were possible. It was on that day in that very moment that I became a man. On October 19, 2001 at 7:05am as doctors brought my first son in to the world over 3 months before he was due, I was told they would do everything they could but he wouldn't make it due to the lack of development. For over 3 months I sat with him every single day, praying, asking a God who I was truly mad at to at the very least, take care of my son. I watched the monitors every moment to make sure they never dropped or provided that straight line that tells us all it is over. It was during this time I grew up as a man. It changed my life, my outlook and made me humble.
Through the most recent pregnancies with my wife and our two new boys and even now, it has been a path that has revealed to me more than any other time in my life. In addition to that, as I have raised my children over the years, for as much as I attempt to teach them and guide them, I believe I have learned more than I could ever teach. My children have taught me about love, patience, values, caring and sacrifice. Along with these main things, there is so much more. They provide me with a sense of urgency and drive. When I feel discouraged they uplift me in a way that carries me through. When I get upset they love on me and remind me that there are things more important in life then worrying about what's next. When I am hurt and sad they come to me and fill me with joy and love that turns any pain I may feel away. This is the impact my children have on me. They make life so much fun and exciting. They provide love in a greater and more honest form that lets us know it is real and they simply just make you smile when you don't even want to. Children change our lives in ways that nothing and no one else can.
Recently in a small town of Newtown, Connecticut, 26 innocent individuals were killed by one man who walked in to an Elementary school early one morning and unleashed a fury of bullets that would change a community forever. Of those 26 individuals killed, 20 were children all under the age of 10. This is a tragedy that has struck the very heart of every individual in our country and I am sure others around the world. The killing of 26 people itself is a remarkable shock to anyone and adding to it that 20 of those killed were kids simply breaks the hearts of even the toughest and coldest of people. 20 children killed by multiple gun shots from an individual who media, law enforcement, and the public will investigate for months to seek the one answer we will truly never know...and that is "why?" Simply put.....he is a crazy and sick young man who performed a cowardly act. Maybe someone missed something. Maybe he was overlooked by someone who should have paid a little more attention leading up to this point. The "Why?" in this truthfully will not matter because to know "Why" would give the perception that it would or could somehow be justified and that is just not possible. "Why?" he did it will not bring resolve to this community or the families. It will not bring about justification or return the lives of those 26 individuals back. "Why?" simply will not bring about any solution to on ongoing problem that has existed for years and has taken center stage from Columbine to Chicago. Florida to Oregon and now to Conneticut. The problem is due to lack of management in gun distribution and a greater lack of individuals standing up and taking charge or our communities. I could go on about the fact we allowed prayer to be taken out of our schools and removed from various forms of tradition. I could address the fact parents have allowed children to play video games that show extremely graphic violence and killing. I could express my concern about our sadistic desire to see violence ourselves in movies and news clips. I could raise my concerns about the lack of Christians standing up in all of this and allowing the world to try and fix the world. That is like darkness trying to shine on darkness. I also could go in to the fact that we as a society have become so greedy, selfish, and ignorant to the needs of so much around us that we have become completely blind to the very basic idea that life itself is of great value and worth protecting. We have put God in a box and put HIM on a shelf high above others reach and told HIM to stay put so HE doesn't offend anyone as you navigate through life. When you turn around and find yourself hurting you try and reach for that box but you put it so high and ignored it you can't even remember what shelf you put it on. Then when tragedies like this occur because of the choice of man, you ask that foolish question of "why would God allow this to happen?" Why ask a question like this when you made the choice to put God away? I could get in to all of this and be justified in my discussion, but I reserve that for another time. This message, this writing is much more simplified for the basics in us all. We NEED to change....and like the birth of each of my children have changed me, made me better, pushed me, and grew me up.....it is sad we must wait for the death of 20 children to do the same.
Rather than look for the why....let's focus on the "What now." Change. If the death of 20 children does not cause you to desire more change when anyone of those kids could have been yours then I encourage you to seek counsel and do not purchase a gun. It is always the tragedy where children are involved that seems to move this country in to a place of desired change. So let's change it. Stop ignoring the video games. Stop using God like you are his manager. Stop allowing society to attempt to fix a problem it is a part of. Stop sitting silent while our children are ignored in the ongoing marry-go-round of politics. Stop hiding the light that God has called you to shine in the world and acting like it is a curse. If you truly want to know the "why?" then look at us. We are the reason tragedies like this happen. We are the reason people who should never own a butter knife end up with high powered assault rifles. We sit on our hands and due all we can to protect our rights as citizens...when we destroy more rights then we save.....even at the expense of 26 innocent individuals....at the expense of 20 little children. I am all for gun rights and I support the right to carry a gun and have more than one. I am so much for it that I am willing to allow specific medical records be revealed to show that I am not on medication nor in some form or counseling that would indicate a risk. I am willing to provide documentation as to what the guns will be used for and a legitimate reason as to why I need to carry it on me at times. I am willing to allow my taxes to increase in order to pay for state funded security for our schools. Funds that employ city police officers to patrol the school and halls and protect our children. I am willing to allow my tax dollars to provide additional security measures to include installing detectors on every entrance of our schools to detect weapons or potential weapons. I am in support of random searches of our childrens lockers and back packs in an effort to deter holding weapons and or drugs. I know many will say that is a breach of privacy and for that I submit this thought. If you are employed by a company and use a work computer or sit at a work desk....do you believe that they do not have a right to conduct random searches or view what you look at on your computer? They do have that right and they do exercise it often. Our schools are designed to teach and while our kids are they we hold the school responsible for protecting our children so we should grant them the tools to do such. I am willing to allow these things to take place not because of the death of 26 individuals where 20 were children but because of the birth of the four I father. Again, they changed the way I view things and my intentions behind my actions.
Will this eliminate all major tragedies? No. However, it will deter many who think about it and make us much more responsible and much more involved. So if this tragedy truly has made you look at things in a much more serious manner. If the killing of 20 children do nothing else...at least let their death move us in a direction of change. Change that will save the next group of children. Children that could be yours. Lastly, lets not wait for the death of multiple children move us to action and change, let's look for the birth of them to do it first.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
A New Day......of Truth...
The election is over and President Obama has been re-elected to lead our country for another four more years. This very fact has caused such tremendous anger in the lives of so many who may have voted for Romney but either way, did not want President Obama to be re-elected. The idea of President Obama remaining our President brings great sadness to those individuals and anger as well as absolute confusion. Through the last four years, the election, and even since...comments have been made, accusations, attacks, and blame for the collapse of our Country as we know it has been brought up on many occasions. As I look at the attacks and comments, I hear those making them say it is because President Obama does not understand American values. He doesn't understand what it means to be American. He is destroying "our" country.etc...etc...etc.. What they are REALLY saying is much more simple and far more concerning. President Obama cannot lead this country because he is black. Blacks don't deserve this honor. Blacks don't understand American values or the "American Way." The attacks and comments simply are based on systemic racism that exists in the very fabric of this "great" country. That is the simple and honest reality of how they truly feel.
Blacks do not understand American Values or the American Way....wow...To here this idea in 2012 brings great sadness to my heart. At 37 I have understood the American way in this fashion. Based on the foundation of the United States of America where we are ONE nation under God...Indivisible. We are a country of immigrants who came here to escape the rule of another country. We took the land we reside on from the Indians who were already living here. We brought over Africans to enslave them and build "our country" and work the land for hundreds of years. We were a nation where taxes were paid to share among citizens who lived here. To provide options for the masses as it would be too costly to fend for ones self. Since then, blacks have escaped slavery to freedom to a place where slavery was eventually was cast out. From slavery with minimal to no help, they found work, purchased homes, land and began to educate themselves and seek higher education. Eventually they used that education to become business leaders, owners, farmers, and entrepreneurs. Starting businesses and providing goods for themselves as well as whites. They protested in unity for rights that should have been provided for them because they were citizens. They pushed forward in a majority of peaceful protests to accomplish rights to vote and live where ever they wanted to. Blacks have faced adversity in education all the way up through college and in to the workforce. They were provided tools and resources that were minimal at best to succeed. They continued to push forward. They got behind leaders who stood up as a voice for the concerns and supported those individuals when they endured hard times. Blacks continue to lead the way today in areas of music, fashion, sports, and business by creating fresh new ways to achieve greater goals and success for all citizens. Providing a different view and approach all the while, still facing adversity simply because they are black. When I look at the history of black America, I can't see anything else but the TRUE American way. Picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and pushing forward to pave a way for yourself...all while trusting a God who we can't see because those we CAN see use everything possible to hinder the progress. This election was not about losing American values at all, at least not the kind we claim to live by. It was purely about looking in to the face of the true values that have been on display for decades as oppose to the values "others" seek in greed and separation. The election and re-election of President Obama was the turning point provided to all of America to realize that a new day is here and you can either jump on and ride true American Values or run in perceived fear that what you never had anyways is lost.
No other race of people has ever had to face the trials, obstacles and challenges that blacks have had to face just as no other President has had to face the attacks and hate that President Obama has had to face. Not one. The part that concerns me the most and makes me most saddened is that all those people who have attacked him, said he just "isn't the one" and have used every video, news shot, magazine, and commercial to say how terrible this President is and how he is all these things he is not, do not realize that the very hate this country has exhibited has done so THROUGH them. He is not Muslim and he was born in Hawaii which was and still is part of the 50 United States. At what point do we realize that our ignorance is showing in our comments and attacks and step up to be the very opposite of what we say we hate? Our country needs to move forward and it will move forward with or without you. It would be easier for you to move with it. Mitt Romney made a comment that 47% of citizens are "takers" and want entitlements. Here is the facts: That number is more like 27% and most of them are individuals who have worked and live off the social security they paid in to. Others are war veterans and disabled. What this means is YES...there are some who live off the system and have no desire to work or be a productive citizens. That is a reality and the truth we try to avoid facing. However, the real problem is us. How? Simple...we know those individuals who stay at home all day and do nothing but have babies, smoke, and live off the system with no plan to do any different...and we say NOTHING. We don't challenge them, encourage them, help them, or prepare them. We simply visit them, laugh, and leave to talk behind their backs. Remember, we are a United States...Indivisible. A country who helps out in various ways. So push them and stop blaming someone else....like our President.
The election is over and President Obama is still our President. Are you still the same person doing the same things with no change and no progress? Or are you prepared to move this country forward because although he is the President and leader of this country...if others are not following him to help make it better..then he is not a leader...he is just someone taking a walk. WE voted him in to lead us so be prepared to follow and make a change yourselves. Complaining doesn't make changes...it enlarges the problem. Are you the solution? Or an addition? It's a New Day...are you prepared?
Blacks do not understand American Values or the American Way....wow...To here this idea in 2012 brings great sadness to my heart. At 37 I have understood the American way in this fashion. Based on the foundation of the United States of America where we are ONE nation under God...Indivisible. We are a country of immigrants who came here to escape the rule of another country. We took the land we reside on from the Indians who were already living here. We brought over Africans to enslave them and build "our country" and work the land for hundreds of years. We were a nation where taxes were paid to share among citizens who lived here. To provide options for the masses as it would be too costly to fend for ones self. Since then, blacks have escaped slavery to freedom to a place where slavery was eventually was cast out. From slavery with minimal to no help, they found work, purchased homes, land and began to educate themselves and seek higher education. Eventually they used that education to become business leaders, owners, farmers, and entrepreneurs. Starting businesses and providing goods for themselves as well as whites. They protested in unity for rights that should have been provided for them because they were citizens. They pushed forward in a majority of peaceful protests to accomplish rights to vote and live where ever they wanted to. Blacks have faced adversity in education all the way up through college and in to the workforce. They were provided tools and resources that were minimal at best to succeed. They continued to push forward. They got behind leaders who stood up as a voice for the concerns and supported those individuals when they endured hard times. Blacks continue to lead the way today in areas of music, fashion, sports, and business by creating fresh new ways to achieve greater goals and success for all citizens. Providing a different view and approach all the while, still facing adversity simply because they are black. When I look at the history of black America, I can't see anything else but the TRUE American way. Picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and pushing forward to pave a way for yourself...all while trusting a God who we can't see because those we CAN see use everything possible to hinder the progress. This election was not about losing American values at all, at least not the kind we claim to live by. It was purely about looking in to the face of the true values that have been on display for decades as oppose to the values "others" seek in greed and separation. The election and re-election of President Obama was the turning point provided to all of America to realize that a new day is here and you can either jump on and ride true American Values or run in perceived fear that what you never had anyways is lost.
No other race of people has ever had to face the trials, obstacles and challenges that blacks have had to face just as no other President has had to face the attacks and hate that President Obama has had to face. Not one. The part that concerns me the most and makes me most saddened is that all those people who have attacked him, said he just "isn't the one" and have used every video, news shot, magazine, and commercial to say how terrible this President is and how he is all these things he is not, do not realize that the very hate this country has exhibited has done so THROUGH them. He is not Muslim and he was born in Hawaii which was and still is part of the 50 United States. At what point do we realize that our ignorance is showing in our comments and attacks and step up to be the very opposite of what we say we hate? Our country needs to move forward and it will move forward with or without you. It would be easier for you to move with it. Mitt Romney made a comment that 47% of citizens are "takers" and want entitlements. Here is the facts: That number is more like 27% and most of them are individuals who have worked and live off the social security they paid in to. Others are war veterans and disabled. What this means is YES...there are some who live off the system and have no desire to work or be a productive citizens. That is a reality and the truth we try to avoid facing. However, the real problem is us. How? Simple...we know those individuals who stay at home all day and do nothing but have babies, smoke, and live off the system with no plan to do any different...and we say NOTHING. We don't challenge them, encourage them, help them, or prepare them. We simply visit them, laugh, and leave to talk behind their backs. Remember, we are a United States...Indivisible. A country who helps out in various ways. So push them and stop blaming someone else....like our President.
The election is over and President Obama is still our President. Are you still the same person doing the same things with no change and no progress? Or are you prepared to move this country forward because although he is the President and leader of this country...if others are not following him to help make it better..then he is not a leader...he is just someone taking a walk. WE voted him in to lead us so be prepared to follow and make a change yourselves. Complaining doesn't make changes...it enlarges the problem. Are you the solution? Or an addition? It's a New Day...are you prepared?
Saturday, October 27, 2012
A Perceived Reality.....
On our way to an event today, my wife and I made a stop at a local "Early Voting" spot to cast our vote for this years election. Along with two of my kids in tow, I pressed the button to place a check in the small little box for several district judges and various senate seats candidates and I also pressed the box to place a check in the box confirming my vote and support of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. As I went through the prompts, finished, and loaded the family up in the car to head to the next event, I began to think of many things concerning elections in general, the history and of course the significance of this very election in 2012. I have seen, listened to, conversed about, read, and received so much information during this election and witnessed in it all, so much hatred for one individual. Our President.
I did not vote for President Obama because he is black. I did not vote for him because I simply don't like Mitt Romney. I did not vote for President Obama because I had to make a choice of the "lesser evil." I voted for President Obama because I believe in the direction he is attempting to move our country forward in. I believe in most of the policies he has either put in place and others he would like to put in place. I voted for him because he has presented change in this country that has us on the path to a better future. I voted for him because he is the best man for the job. Period.
I have read all the articles, seen all the YouTube videos, listened to all the "non"mainstream media types bash him, demean him, and provide some of the most pointed hatred I have seen in my 37 years of life. The comments, the lies, the constant attacks that I have witnessed has led me to see America for what it has truly become. We claim to be the greatest country on this earth, and although I will not debate that, I must submit some of that some of that "greatness" we claim is clearly a poorly perceived reality. Thus, simply not great at all. We are a country that has shown ourselves to hate with greater passion. Attack with misguided purpose. Mislead with greater intentions. We are a country of selfish citizens where even the poor feel entitled. We have forgotten the concept of helping, respecting, leading, and changing for the better because it has become inconvenient. The past four years that President Obama has been in office, I have witnessed this behavior from distant and up close and it caused me today to ask an even greater question than "why?" This behavior and the times in which we live caused me to ask "how much longer?" Not "how much longer" as in how long we will live like this or continue in this fashion. How much longer before we destroy the very existence God has given us by continuing to ignore the need for change and collect for self in complete greed? This is the concern and this is why my heart hurts.
"Hate"...."Racism"......it is embedded in the very fibers of our lives like DNA to the point the most don't even realize they are racist or being racist and hateful. This President has brought out the very hate that has lived, breathed, and cultivated the very hearts of those who makes statements like, "We want our country back." or "Obama doesn't know or understand what it means to be American." Statements like this, no matter how you attempt to spin them, are hateful by design and racist in nature. No other President has been attacked for his birth certificate, his religion, his standards, and his family up bringing as President Obama has. Not one! No other President has been blamed for every single issue, concern, mishap, downfall, or failure to the extent this President has been. Not One!! Stories have mislead you, lied to you, provided inaccurate information in an attempt to make you believe that this current President is the worse human being on the face of the earth. His religion has been attacked saying he is not Christian and lately that he is the "wrong" type of Christian. At what point do we open our eyes and realize that our minds are being made up by others who have agendas that speak to the very greed this country has thrived on and causes us to say this is the greatest country on earth? He is the "wrong" kind of Christian? Really? Jesus Christ sat with sinners, broke break with unbelievers often in an attempt to express his love for them to convert them to follow him. Jesus also believed in paying taxes because it was the law and required to provide options to those around HIM. The bible is full of scriptures that address the rich and the evil behind the greed and love of money. The bible tells us that the goods of the rich are stored up for the poor. The lesser will be blessed by the greater. (Heb 7:7) When I look at these passages and I think about what President Obama's plans are, I am moved to believe that he is in fact the Right Christian, not the wrong. I believe that his character and values speak more to a Christian belief system then most previous Presidents. His humility when addressing crowds and interacting with citizens. His calm approach to various issues and concerns. He has been attacked for saying and attempting to meet with other world leaders to try and come to some type of resolve as opposed to going in to their country and bullying them in to doing what we want. Yet this is a Christ like character of talking to resolve as oppose to war. Those who attack them state that they are Christians yet the very substance of what they say speaks against the very essence of who God is. Hate for a person in this manner destroys our country and destroys the foundation we have stood on for centuries. So it is not a matter of how long will we continue but how long until we destroy us? You may not agree with his policies or methods but to blame him for every failure when congress has not moved to action on many of the things that people attack him for when he has submitted the plan. You may not agree with his stand on social issues and even foreign policies however we have been safe without concern for 4 years and he is the President of the United States not just the Christian community. Again, his concern and inclusion of individuals that you may feel are undeserving because of their sexual preference, speaks to the very core of the love that the bible teaches us. Love... It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:5-6) Inclusion does not mean one agrees with the sin, but we must love the sinner. When those who have attacked him for things such as this I wonder if it is us who are the "wrong" type of Christians?
This election will come and go and all of us will move forward in our own collective worlds but the question still remains. How long before we destroy "us?" Moving forward doesn't always mean we are actually going anywhere it just simply means we move away from the current moment but life has taught us we seem to always end up back at the same place. The only way to really move forward with no return is to address the elephant in the room. Decide that change will take place and change starts with conversation. Change starts with understanding that someones perceived reality means that misunderstanding may be present. It is up to each of us to clarify the real reality and not allow others to view theirs based on perception. Perception simply means ones idea of reality. Mine is that we are headed to a place we cannot come back from. A place of destruction and a time that will put us all the way back where we must start over completely. A reset ...if you will. What would you prefer....a reset to start with nothing? Or a chance to create change that will allow us to show just how great this country really can be? Are you ready to talk? Are you ready to look HATE and RACISM in the face and call it out? Are you ready for the true reality? Vote.....and do it based on facts....not someone else's misleading reality....find the truth. That is how change starts...that is where this countries greatness stems from. YOU!
I did not vote for President Obama because he is black. I did not vote for him because I simply don't like Mitt Romney. I did not vote for President Obama because I had to make a choice of the "lesser evil." I voted for President Obama because I believe in the direction he is attempting to move our country forward in. I believe in most of the policies he has either put in place and others he would like to put in place. I voted for him because he has presented change in this country that has us on the path to a better future. I voted for him because he is the best man for the job. Period.
I have read all the articles, seen all the YouTube videos, listened to all the "non"mainstream media types bash him, demean him, and provide some of the most pointed hatred I have seen in my 37 years of life. The comments, the lies, the constant attacks that I have witnessed has led me to see America for what it has truly become. We claim to be the greatest country on this earth, and although I will not debate that, I must submit some of that some of that "greatness" we claim is clearly a poorly perceived reality. Thus, simply not great at all. We are a country that has shown ourselves to hate with greater passion. Attack with misguided purpose. Mislead with greater intentions. We are a country of selfish citizens where even the poor feel entitled. We have forgotten the concept of helping, respecting, leading, and changing for the better because it has become inconvenient. The past four years that President Obama has been in office, I have witnessed this behavior from distant and up close and it caused me today to ask an even greater question than "why?" This behavior and the times in which we live caused me to ask "how much longer?" Not "how much longer" as in how long we will live like this or continue in this fashion. How much longer before we destroy the very existence God has given us by continuing to ignore the need for change and collect for self in complete greed? This is the concern and this is why my heart hurts.
"Hate"...."Racism"......it is embedded in the very fibers of our lives like DNA to the point the most don't even realize they are racist or being racist and hateful. This President has brought out the very hate that has lived, breathed, and cultivated the very hearts of those who makes statements like, "We want our country back." or "Obama doesn't know or understand what it means to be American." Statements like this, no matter how you attempt to spin them, are hateful by design and racist in nature. No other President has been attacked for his birth certificate, his religion, his standards, and his family up bringing as President Obama has. Not one! No other President has been blamed for every single issue, concern, mishap, downfall, or failure to the extent this President has been. Not One!! Stories have mislead you, lied to you, provided inaccurate information in an attempt to make you believe that this current President is the worse human being on the face of the earth. His religion has been attacked saying he is not Christian and lately that he is the "wrong" type of Christian. At what point do we open our eyes and realize that our minds are being made up by others who have agendas that speak to the very greed this country has thrived on and causes us to say this is the greatest country on earth? He is the "wrong" kind of Christian? Really? Jesus Christ sat with sinners, broke break with unbelievers often in an attempt to express his love for them to convert them to follow him. Jesus also believed in paying taxes because it was the law and required to provide options to those around HIM. The bible is full of scriptures that address the rich and the evil behind the greed and love of money. The bible tells us that the goods of the rich are stored up for the poor. The lesser will be blessed by the greater. (Heb 7:7) When I look at these passages and I think about what President Obama's plans are, I am moved to believe that he is in fact the Right Christian, not the wrong. I believe that his character and values speak more to a Christian belief system then most previous Presidents. His humility when addressing crowds and interacting with citizens. His calm approach to various issues and concerns. He has been attacked for saying and attempting to meet with other world leaders to try and come to some type of resolve as opposed to going in to their country and bullying them in to doing what we want. Yet this is a Christ like character of talking to resolve as oppose to war. Those who attack them state that they are Christians yet the very substance of what they say speaks against the very essence of who God is. Hate for a person in this manner destroys our country and destroys the foundation we have stood on for centuries. So it is not a matter of how long will we continue but how long until we destroy us? You may not agree with his policies or methods but to blame him for every failure when congress has not moved to action on many of the things that people attack him for when he has submitted the plan. You may not agree with his stand on social issues and even foreign policies however we have been safe without concern for 4 years and he is the President of the United States not just the Christian community. Again, his concern and inclusion of individuals that you may feel are undeserving because of their sexual preference, speaks to the very core of the love that the bible teaches us. Love... It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:5-6) Inclusion does not mean one agrees with the sin, but we must love the sinner. When those who have attacked him for things such as this I wonder if it is us who are the "wrong" type of Christians?
This election will come and go and all of us will move forward in our own collective worlds but the question still remains. How long before we destroy "us?" Moving forward doesn't always mean we are actually going anywhere it just simply means we move away from the current moment but life has taught us we seem to always end up back at the same place. The only way to really move forward with no return is to address the elephant in the room. Decide that change will take place and change starts with conversation. Change starts with understanding that someones perceived reality means that misunderstanding may be present. It is up to each of us to clarify the real reality and not allow others to view theirs based on perception. Perception simply means ones idea of reality. Mine is that we are headed to a place we cannot come back from. A place of destruction and a time that will put us all the way back where we must start over completely. A reset ...if you will. What would you prefer....a reset to start with nothing? Or a chance to create change that will allow us to show just how great this country really can be? Are you ready to talk? Are you ready to look HATE and RACISM in the face and call it out? Are you ready for the true reality? Vote.....and do it based on facts....not someone else's misleading reality....find the truth. That is how change starts...that is where this countries greatness stems from. YOU!
Monday, September 10, 2012
Nine Eleven
There are a few moments in our lives that will impact us in such a way that the immediate direction we are headed takes a drastic detour and your ideas, philosophies, beliefs, habits, and routines can change in such a way that you begin to question them all. Things can happen that when they do, they leave an engraved mark in your memory that never leaves you and is as clear in your mind when you remember it as it was the day it happened. It could be the birth of a child, a marriage, or even a death. These things change us and also mold us.
On September 11, 2001 I woke up like any other day to get ready for work. After dropping my daughter off at school, I went in to my job at one of restaurants I ran here in San Antonio. While checking on my employees, running weekly numbers, and serving customers, I remember a young lady who came in and while taking her food to go she said "did you all here about that plane that ran in to the Trade Tower in New York?" My first response was, "no I didn't, so much going on here in San Antonio I can't worry about New York." We smiled and she left. I went to the back and turned on the radio and heard the news she was referring to. At first, it wasn't a concern other than the clear tragedy of lives lost. Then.....a second plane flew in to the second tower....and everyone listening and watching on t.v. knew our lives would be changed forever. I gathered some things and left the store. I told the team I would return and advised my managers to be cautious and prepared. I left and went home to see how much things would change. I watched for hours and many others. I could not believe this, terrorists have attacked us and lives have been lost. At that moment, I remember getting something to drink out of my refrigerator and I turned to watch the t.v. and then it happened.....the first building collapsed...then the second. I could not believe my eyes and I began to shed tears, there, alone in my living room. Thinking about my family, my daughter, and my friends. I had friends in New York....were they in the tower or around the area? Was family of friends I had here in the tower or in the area? So many questions raced in my mind and I had no answers, no comfort, no clue what was going on but I did know this.....we would never be the same.
Since then, 11 years later, we have changed. We are more prideful in our country. We are more cautious in our actions and words in public. Also, every year, on September 11th, we are all united and remember what happened and where we were on that day. For 24 hours, we are one. We have changed......and most of the change has shown our true character. We hate with greater passion. We profile with greater levels of disregard. We have gone back to our "clicks" as it relates to familiar likeness of each other. We attack one another with greater anger. We disregard with greater cost and a greater lack of sympathy. We complain with less resolve, and we react with less passion. What do I mean? We have gotten worse in our own dealings with one another and the direction we have been detoured to after 9/11/01 has caused us to get lost in a frenzy of streets with turns and signs and in many regards, we have taken a street that, rather than move us forward around the detour and ahead of the mess, we find ourselves going backwards.
How do we return? How do we take a turnaround and get back to the place of forward progress? We remember...not just what happened on 9/11, but what happened before that, since, and because. How great did you feel to see American's coming together like NEVER before? How good did it feel to walk in to a store and you were received with love because you were an American? As good as it felt, we must remember what it means to be an American....and sadly, most don't. Being an American is much more than BBQ's, sports games, and greed. (yes...) To be an American is to remember how we started. A group of foreigners left their country and came here to get a way from the previous way of life because they did not agree with it and they establish this idea to exist for all others who did not agree and would abide by the laws of freedom. They created a system out of a belief that there is more than one way to do things and freedom was greater than greed and that all those who come here have the right to obtain this belief. A belief that no one was greater than the next and that government would work for the people and help the people in order to sustain an equality and opportunity for success. Somewhere along this journey we can clearly see the detour started way before 9/11. What was so special in the aftermath of this tragic event is that for a moment, for those few days that follow, it was not the detour that changed us, it was the realization that the road we were on, the detour from our past, finally brought us back to the original road created for us to follow. We were off the detour and on the road called America. The problem is this, we were on the detour for so long that the original road seemed so out of place and we determined collectively that we were in fact, lost....so we went backwards and got back on the detour. This is where we stand now. What we must do is find our way back to that road we found after 9-11-01 and rather than be afraid of loving one another. Rather than feel like our humility is weakness. Rather than think differences make us better or worse than the next. Rather than hate just because we don't understand or take the time to....rather than remain lost...we must embrace our differences, embrace our humility, embrace the thirst to learn so we can embrace the foundation of our country...and that foundation is the belief of God. It is in everything we do.....but covered up by the greed in which we do it. WE must realize that to be an American is to be the melting pot of the entire world. Made up of so much and able to offer so much because we are able to embrace so much. To be an American is to stand on the word of God that all are equal, no one is greater than HE that sent you. To be humble and not boastful and most of all....to be the hand someone else needs to pull them out of the situation they are trying to change.
Nine Eleven taught us so much....can we embrace what we learned? Can we remember what we were doing on that very day when our detour ended and we got lost on the right track....when we got lost in the love we had for each other and the support of one another, doing what we were created to do....be the difference.
Be Blessed
On September 11, 2001 I woke up like any other day to get ready for work. After dropping my daughter off at school, I went in to my job at one of restaurants I ran here in San Antonio. While checking on my employees, running weekly numbers, and serving customers, I remember a young lady who came in and while taking her food to go she said "did you all here about that plane that ran in to the Trade Tower in New York?" My first response was, "no I didn't, so much going on here in San Antonio I can't worry about New York." We smiled and she left. I went to the back and turned on the radio and heard the news she was referring to. At first, it wasn't a concern other than the clear tragedy of lives lost. Then.....a second plane flew in to the second tower....and everyone listening and watching on t.v. knew our lives would be changed forever. I gathered some things and left the store. I told the team I would return and advised my managers to be cautious and prepared. I left and went home to see how much things would change. I watched for hours and many others. I could not believe this, terrorists have attacked us and lives have been lost. At that moment, I remember getting something to drink out of my refrigerator and I turned to watch the t.v. and then it happened.....the first building collapsed...then the second. I could not believe my eyes and I began to shed tears, there, alone in my living room. Thinking about my family, my daughter, and my friends. I had friends in New York....were they in the tower or around the area? Was family of friends I had here in the tower or in the area? So many questions raced in my mind and I had no answers, no comfort, no clue what was going on but I did know this.....we would never be the same.
Since then, 11 years later, we have changed. We are more prideful in our country. We are more cautious in our actions and words in public. Also, every year, on September 11th, we are all united and remember what happened and where we were on that day. For 24 hours, we are one. We have changed......and most of the change has shown our true character. We hate with greater passion. We profile with greater levels of disregard. We have gone back to our "clicks" as it relates to familiar likeness of each other. We attack one another with greater anger. We disregard with greater cost and a greater lack of sympathy. We complain with less resolve, and we react with less passion. What do I mean? We have gotten worse in our own dealings with one another and the direction we have been detoured to after 9/11/01 has caused us to get lost in a frenzy of streets with turns and signs and in many regards, we have taken a street that, rather than move us forward around the detour and ahead of the mess, we find ourselves going backwards.
How do we return? How do we take a turnaround and get back to the place of forward progress? We remember...not just what happened on 9/11, but what happened before that, since, and because. How great did you feel to see American's coming together like NEVER before? How good did it feel to walk in to a store and you were received with love because you were an American? As good as it felt, we must remember what it means to be an American....and sadly, most don't. Being an American is much more than BBQ's, sports games, and greed. (yes...) To be an American is to remember how we started. A group of foreigners left their country and came here to get a way from the previous way of life because they did not agree with it and they establish this idea to exist for all others who did not agree and would abide by the laws of freedom. They created a system out of a belief that there is more than one way to do things and freedom was greater than greed and that all those who come here have the right to obtain this belief. A belief that no one was greater than the next and that government would work for the people and help the people in order to sustain an equality and opportunity for success. Somewhere along this journey we can clearly see the detour started way before 9/11. What was so special in the aftermath of this tragic event is that for a moment, for those few days that follow, it was not the detour that changed us, it was the realization that the road we were on, the detour from our past, finally brought us back to the original road created for us to follow. We were off the detour and on the road called America. The problem is this, we were on the detour for so long that the original road seemed so out of place and we determined collectively that we were in fact, lost....so we went backwards and got back on the detour. This is where we stand now. What we must do is find our way back to that road we found after 9-11-01 and rather than be afraid of loving one another. Rather than feel like our humility is weakness. Rather than think differences make us better or worse than the next. Rather than hate just because we don't understand or take the time to....rather than remain lost...we must embrace our differences, embrace our humility, embrace the thirst to learn so we can embrace the foundation of our country...and that foundation is the belief of God. It is in everything we do.....but covered up by the greed in which we do it. WE must realize that to be an American is to be the melting pot of the entire world. Made up of so much and able to offer so much because we are able to embrace so much. To be an American is to stand on the word of God that all are equal, no one is greater than HE that sent you. To be humble and not boastful and most of all....to be the hand someone else needs to pull them out of the situation they are trying to change.
Nine Eleven taught us so much....can we embrace what we learned? Can we remember what we were doing on that very day when our detour ended and we got lost on the right track....when we got lost in the love we had for each other and the support of one another, doing what we were created to do....be the difference.
Be Blessed
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