I've been doing a lot of thinking, and that can be a dangerous thing folks. ;) I recently joined the legions of people on Facebook (not my blog Facebook, but Facebook for me personally). This was something I had shown no interest in for years. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was kind of fun to reconnect with people, many of whom I hadn't seen in at least 30 years. You don't realize how much time has passed while you were in the process of raising children, having a career, etc., etc. What I had failed to consider was that while I had been changing, maturing, and growing older, amazingly enough, so had all the people I used to know. ;)
One thing I've noticed in reading the Facebook posts of people I know, is that there seems to be a common theme. While I frequently see praise for, and tribute to, our military men and women, it seems like people are fed up and disgusted with government -- specifically, politicians. I wouldn't be surprised if it were only young people who feel this way; to rebel is part of the allure of being young. In addition, a huge amount of our young people have graduated from college with an overwhelming load of student debt hanging over them. It's understandable that they're disgusted with our government; available jobs are at an all-time low, and it will take these graduates years to pay off this student debt. Right now, however, it seems that people of all generations are fed up with our leaders.
Here at Forest Manor, we've always been a patriotic family, as have our parents. We've always been proud of being American, but even we are disgusted. I get the impression that so many Americans don't put any credence in anything politicians say anymore -- after all, they'll say just about anything to get elected, right? It seems that our elected officials have forgotten that they were elected to serve; they have conveniently forgotten that to serve their country is a privilege and a duty they were entrusted with when we, the people, voted them into office. My husband says they get to Washington, D.C., and they forget what it's like to be everyday people, like us. They live in a bubble -- a bubble with very expensive perks -- and they're happily using our hard-earned money to pay for those perks.
It has been said that people get the government they deserve. I tend to agree with this -- up to a point. I think a lot of poor and under-developed, third world countries don't have a choice about who runs their country. Sadly, they are often at the mercy of cruel and unethical dictators who persist in oppressing the people who live there. In our case, we are still able to go to the polls and vote for our leaders, so I think, to some extent, we get the government we deserve. Many days, I look around and I'm appalled at the way people behave, talking on their cell phones while they blow through a red light, taking selfies at every opportunity, filming one person (or multiple persons) attacking someone in public rather than stepping in to try and help the victim. There are parents who aren't parenting -- too busy playing with their electronic gadgets to watch their children.
Then, on Memorial Day weekend, when we should have been remembering our fallen soldiers and current military members, the airwaves were filled with people enraged because a gorilla was shot dead to protect a four-year old child. What is wrong with people? My take on this is that there was plenty of blame to go around in this incident. The zoo needs to make every enclosure more child-proof, because which of us has never had a child dart away from us before we can react? On the other hand, I've grown a bit cynical, and can't help wondering if the parents were paying as close attention as they should have been. The gorilla, unfortunately, was just being a gorilla; but it still can't be allowed to kill a child or any human being while we do nothing. If my son were in there, I know what I'd want done, no questions asked. So yes, I often think we have the government we deserve.
Then, on Memorial Day weekend, when we should have been remembering our fallen soldiers and current military members, the airwaves were filled with people enraged because a gorilla was shot dead to protect a four-year old child. What is wrong with people? My take on this is that there was plenty of blame to go around in this incident. The zoo needs to make every enclosure more child-proof, because which of us has never had a child dart away from us before we can react? On the other hand, I've grown a bit cynical, and can't help wondering if the parents were paying as close attention as they should have been. The gorilla, unfortunately, was just being a gorilla; but it still can't be allowed to kill a child or any human being while we do nothing. If my son were in there, I know what I'd want done, no questions asked. So yes, I often think we have the government we deserve.
On the other hand, there are still plenty of good people in this country, but thanks to our media, they don't get much air-time. As far as politicians are concerned, I sometimes think that part of the problem is trying to govern such a large population of people. How can one possibly take into consideration all the needs, wants, and expectations of a country the size of ours? And by all accounts, legally many of these people simply should not be here -- period. I'm not picking on one particular group of people here either; I'm talking about anyone who has not gone through the legal process of being in this country.
Great Britain, for example, has strict immigration policies, and they make sure those policies are followed. They really don't have much choice, considering that they live on an island. When you live on an island, it's kind of like "Survivor" -- not everybody gets to stay. Non-British citizens are not allowed to live there and take jobs away from British citizens. Even though the United States is not an island, we still have limited jobs and limited resources, both physical and financial.
So what's to do then; what is the answer? It will be interesting ( the understatement of the century) to see what happens in this upcoming November election. I've stepped down from my soapbox now. ;) I just felt like putting my thoughts into words here; as you know, I rarely post about political matters. What are your thoughts about national issues, or do you just try and tune it all out?
Thanks so much for stopping by; I hope you have a lovely weekend!!
Denise
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