My mom used to say, many years ago, "this country is going to hell in a hand bucket". I never really understood what she meant by that but I do now. I'm sure she's turned over in her grave more times than I can count. The government is slowly but surely taking control of everything we have and do; what we eat, how we raise our children, how we choose to worship...etc. When will it end? When they turn us into a communist country?
The airports have gone insane with the security measures they've implemented. Here's a clue for you all: Take a lesson from Israel and Britian, the two top security forces in the world. They don't resort to full body scans and "pat-downs". And they profile! Imagine that! This country is so afraid of offending anyone that they would NEVER profile. But GB and Israel manage to catch their would-be terrorists without resorting to what we've resorted to so they must be doing something right.
The latest story I've just recently read about that's driven me to the brink of insanity is how our country is being sold out from under us. The parking meters in Chicago belong to the Arabs? The Pennsylvania Turnpike has been offered for sale to the Arabs? There are others; the Chicago skyline, a stretch of highway in Florida, parking meters in Nashville, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and other cities, a port in Virginia...for what? Oil? Why is our government (most notably our banks, which, as I'm beginning to see is true, owns our government anyway) selling America piece by piece? But the price of oil and gas keeps going up and up? Meanwhile, these Arab countries are not only getting the money from the sale of fuel but now they're also getting money from parking meters and toll booths all over the country? Are we fools?
A town in Massachusetts has recently tried passing a law that non-citizens will be allowed to vote. Does it not state in the Constitution that only CITIZENS are allowed to vote in our elections? Would we be allowed to vote in their elections if we held a Green card, or whatever they call it in their country? What's wrong with this country? What's wrong with us for allowing this to happen?
My mother was right. We're going to hell in a hand bucket. And I think we've finally hit bottom.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Banning Happy Meals at McDonald's
The government keeps pushing itself farther and farther into our lives. Now San Francisco has decided that Happy Meals aren't healthy enough for our children. Keyword here....OUR children, not yours. It's the parents' responsibility to decide what to feed THEIR children, not yours. Newsflash: That's why they're called HAPPY meals, because they make children happy. Fruit and veggies are not going to make them happy. In fact, do this and start a landslide all over the country and I see McDonald's going out of business in the next few years.
Obesity is not caused by McDonald's. Obesity is caused by lack of exercise. Get the children off their butts and out from in front of their computers and outside riding bikes and throwing a ball, things we did when we were children because computers didn't exist yet.
The government needs to BUTT out of our private lives and worry about important things like the economy and the environment, not that a child is putting a vile French Fry into his/her mouth. THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!
And I would venture a guess that ONE person complained about this to the right (wrong?) person and now, all of a sudden, this is an epidemic. Here's what I say to these complainers. They're not happy unless they're complaining about SOMETHING and I'm sure they spend their days and nights scouring the news and cyberspace trying to find something else to complain about.
This week it's Happy Meals. Next week it may be TV's.
Obesity is not caused by McDonald's. Obesity is caused by lack of exercise. Get the children off their butts and out from in front of their computers and outside riding bikes and throwing a ball, things we did when we were children because computers didn't exist yet.
The government needs to BUTT out of our private lives and worry about important things like the economy and the environment, not that a child is putting a vile French Fry into his/her mouth. THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!
And I would venture a guess that ONE person complained about this to the right (wrong?) person and now, all of a sudden, this is an epidemic. Here's what I say to these complainers. They're not happy unless they're complaining about SOMETHING and I'm sure they spend their days and nights scouring the news and cyberspace trying to find something else to complain about.
This week it's Happy Meals. Next week it may be TV's.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Teen Suicides
What is going on with our children? They're being bullied to the point that they just can't handle it anymore and are taking their own lives. A parent is not meant to bury their child and a bully is not better than anyone else. What gives a bully the right to decide that their clothes are better or their hair is nicer or that they're just an all around nicer person?
Bullies have been around since the beginning of time. They were there when I was a little girl and they were there when my mom was a little girl, and probably around when my grandmother was a little girl. Have they gotten meaner or have our children gotten weaker?
Someone said that children are coddled too much these days and protected from way too many real life problems that will face them every day in adulthood. But is this true? Do we, as parents, fail to teach our children that there are nasty people out there that they will inevitably meet and do we teach them how to handle such people? Or do we sweep it under the rug, telling our children to just ignore the bully and he'll/she'll go away?
In my personal opinion, I think that children have gotten meaner. There is virtually no discipline in the schools nor at home. Teachers are afraid to discipline for fear of the school being sued. Parents are afraid to discipline for fear of being arrested for child abuse. Children are afraid to tell an authority figure about the bullying because they fear the retribution that will only get worse instead of better.
Children have no guidance when they get home to an empty house with both parents working. There's also too many ways nowadays to dole out their abuse. The internet and cell phones are devices that we did not have when we were children. So the bullied child not only faces the abuse and taunting at school but now has to face it on Facebook and MySpace for the whole world to see.
Children should not be afraid to approach a teacher or a principal about the bullying and know that the problem will be dealt with. They should also be able to talk to their parents about the bullying and have the parents help them deal with it.
The sad fact is that both parents need to work today to pay the bills. It's not like when we were young and had one parent, usually our moms, home waiting for us when we got home from school.
The family as we remember it ceases to exist for the most part. Children are left alone for too long. They sit in front of their computers and socialize on the computer when they should be socializing in person, throwing a ball, riding a bike, laughing out loud with friends.
Suicide is not the answer. A friend said once, it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem. But it will only be a temporary problem if adults step up to protect our children and teach them that it's okay to stand up to a bully and it's okay to tell someone about it. Let them know that there is someone who will help.
If you love your parents and siblings, think of the impact a suicide will have on them if you end your life. They are the ones who will suffer, not the bully who drove you to it. The bully will not feel any remorse and will only transfer his taunts onto his/her next victim. And the bully will win. Think about that the next time you think about pulling that trigger or jumping from that bridge. The ones you love are the ones who are going to suffer, probably for the rest of their lives. And they will also blame themselves.
Bullies have been around since the beginning of time. They were there when I was a little girl and they were there when my mom was a little girl, and probably around when my grandmother was a little girl. Have they gotten meaner or have our children gotten weaker?
Someone said that children are coddled too much these days and protected from way too many real life problems that will face them every day in adulthood. But is this true? Do we, as parents, fail to teach our children that there are nasty people out there that they will inevitably meet and do we teach them how to handle such people? Or do we sweep it under the rug, telling our children to just ignore the bully and he'll/she'll go away?
In my personal opinion, I think that children have gotten meaner. There is virtually no discipline in the schools nor at home. Teachers are afraid to discipline for fear of the school being sued. Parents are afraid to discipline for fear of being arrested for child abuse. Children are afraid to tell an authority figure about the bullying because they fear the retribution that will only get worse instead of better.
Children have no guidance when they get home to an empty house with both parents working. There's also too many ways nowadays to dole out their abuse. The internet and cell phones are devices that we did not have when we were children. So the bullied child not only faces the abuse and taunting at school but now has to face it on Facebook and MySpace for the whole world to see.
Children should not be afraid to approach a teacher or a principal about the bullying and know that the problem will be dealt with. They should also be able to talk to their parents about the bullying and have the parents help them deal with it.
The sad fact is that both parents need to work today to pay the bills. It's not like when we were young and had one parent, usually our moms, home waiting for us when we got home from school.
The family as we remember it ceases to exist for the most part. Children are left alone for too long. They sit in front of their computers and socialize on the computer when they should be socializing in person, throwing a ball, riding a bike, laughing out loud with friends.
Suicide is not the answer. A friend said once, it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem. But it will only be a temporary problem if adults step up to protect our children and teach them that it's okay to stand up to a bully and it's okay to tell someone about it. Let them know that there is someone who will help.
If you love your parents and siblings, think of the impact a suicide will have on them if you end your life. They are the ones who will suffer, not the bully who drove you to it. The bully will not feel any remorse and will only transfer his taunts onto his/her next victim. And the bully will win. Think about that the next time you think about pulling that trigger or jumping from that bridge. The ones you love are the ones who are going to suffer, probably for the rest of their lives. And they will also blame themselves.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Love
There are all kinds of love. There's the love you feel for your parents, the love you feel for your siblings, the love you feel for your mate. But I think the greatest love of all has to be the love a mother feels for her children. This love also equates to the greatest heartache one can feel as well. I have had my heart broken numerous times by ex-lovers, ex-friends, my mom dying, my grandmother dying, etc. But I have never felt pain greater than the pain I feel when one of my daughters rejects my love in any way. It may be something minor like forgetting a date she had with me to keep a date just made with a friend. Minor as it may seem to the outside world, it's not minor to me or my heart.
I know that someday they will become mothers themselves and will know this love. Until then, I can only suffer in silence, trying to stop the tears that fall out of my broken heart.
It's funny how we want what's best for our children but yet we're willing to let them go out and make mistakes so they learn by living. How we wish we could do their living for them through our experience but then they wouldn't grow into the responsible adults we want them to be.
I know that someday they will become mothers themselves and will know this love. Until then, I can only suffer in silence, trying to stop the tears that fall out of my broken heart.
It's funny how we want what's best for our children but yet we're willing to let them go out and make mistakes so they learn by living. How we wish we could do their living for them through our experience but then they wouldn't grow into the responsible adults we want them to be.
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