Can anyone imagine what could have happened had we had social media in the mid-20th century? We would have been subjected to sneaky video clips of President Roosevelt attempting to get into his wheel chair, or better still of him smoking close to two packs of cigarettes a day and drinking booze at night. How about FDR sneaking to a hidden cottage in the woods on the Hudson to “visit” with his secretary or as rumor had it: his second or third cousin, not sure? What about the shenanigans of John F Kennedy? The back stairs to the White House were used for more than just the butler!  Moving forward into the annals of history: what about President Clinton and The Lewinsky affair (pardon the pun)? Would it have made a difference or did it make a difference to any of these men’s performance as Commanders in Chief? They were boorish, lewd, womanizers, and of course: all men. Did less women vote for them because they at times behaved like pigs? Did it make a difference to the way they took care of the country? FDR saved the country from the Depression and won the war against the evil and horror of WWII in Europe and the Pacific. JFK was charismatic and started the process for Civil Rights before being gunned down. Bill Clinton had the best economy and welfare reform on the books. Pity these guys if they had to run for President today; or maybe not! It seems that today’s biased media only develops a “conscience” when it comes to one partisan group and not another.

I am remembering one of my favorite movies: The American President with Michael Douglas and Annette Bening. Michael Douglas plays the part of the President who got involved with a lobbyist much to the chagrin of his opponent. It is an election year and this opponent is hammering the President on his “family values” because he was a widower with a young daughter, and going out in public with the lobbyist seemed “not on”. I have a point here, it is just a matter of getting to it: one evening the President’s staff bring to his attention the next day’s newspaper headlines: a blown picture of the lobbyist in her college days at a protest rally where the American flag was burned. What Michael Douglas responds is priceless: “Let me get this straight; a woman whom I did not know then, exercised her first amendment rights in a demonstration I had no knowledge of, is now an issue?” This brings us to the situation with a current presidential candidate who eleven years ago, when he was not running for office or even thinking of running for president, was still a private citizen, embarked in common crass locker room banter, in a trailer, while promoting a soap opera star in a business venture. That is a story? Are we nuts?  Rewind the tape: twenty years ago, a sitting President had sexual relations in the Oval Office, denied it, got impeached, and he is still hailed as the greatest guy on earth! Do any of us think that there was no sexual “banter” going on under the Oval Office desk? Is that lewd, mildly lewd, unacceptable, what?  I am not excusing bad behavior with other bad behavior, but I am dumbfounded how we pick and choose what should lay heavy on our “family values” conscience, and who should bear it.  And ladies, please dismount off your prudery high horse : how many of us watch a good looking dude pass by and  not admire his assets? Thank God no one carries a camcorder around me!  I have watched reality shows with more crass and lewd remarks: has anyone watched Hell’s Kitchen lately?

As a nation, what we should be concerned about is not what is said in a locker room but what is being done at the White House to protect us from those bent to harm us. How about protecting the inner cities from urban carnage? Better still: how about protecting the unborn? Pulling an embryo from a body, sometimes sentient, is not lewd enough for you ladies? If you want to be offended how about being offended about that?  I do not see any uproar about killing the unborn who we bring into the world because we can. The right to life and the pursuit of happiness should not be a monopoly of immigrants, it should be mandatory for all human life. How about allowing parents to send their children to good schools of their choice, so maybe, just maybe, our country will stand a chance to compete with the rest of the world? How about making sure that our borders are safe and that only those who have good intentions come and enjoy the land of the free? How about making it easier for businesses to conduct business to employ folk who can hardly make ends meet one week to the next? How about stopping the corruption that has plagued our government and those associated with it for eight years? You want to speak about lewd behavior? How about lying under oath to the American public and getting away with it? Does that not bother anyone’s conscience?

Bad behavior seems to be indigenous to  politics. But what has happened in recent years is not only disturbing but downright dangerous. The utter disregard for truth is masked in partisan quagmire that reaches deep into the sewers of political bias in entertainment, journalism, and social media. With large media giants contributing millions to political parties; the gray lines between truth, exploitation, political gain, power, ethics, and morals are so murky, that we have now become blind and immune to journalists and their bent self-appointed monolithic view of the world and us mere mortals in it. Their smug elite mindset aspires to their single thought process that anything outside their circle of intellectual snobbery is intolerable; we are doomed to be deplorable!  How utterly incongruous of them since they are cheerleaders to the downtrodden, the social purest, the 21st century suffragette, the progressives who march in formation toward a new order, which by the way, counties like Cuba are moving away from. But why? Why shake Lady Liberty into relieving herself of her torch that has been a beacon of hope for so many across the seas? Why try to tweak a system that encourages reward and perseverance in lieu of entitlement and under achievement? Why do they regard success as an abomination unlessof course it is theirs? What do they find so repulsive in the land of the brave and the free that they want to change? Are we perfect as a nation? Not really. Are we am abomination? Hardly. If we were we would not be talking about walls to keep people from coming in because they want to leave their countries. I never heard anyone eager to go and settle in North Korea!

I digress, but everything is relevant in the scheme of things. The convenience of developing a sense of conscience and ethics seems to have become relevant only if one belongs to a certain political persuasion. FDR, JFK, Bill Clinton were regular folk who for some reason had a problem with a simple clothing device called a zipper. Is it mental, genetic, social? Who knows? Is it unique? No. Europeans almost expect their leaders to be involvied in sexual inappropriaty. It seems to add a sense of masculinity to the position. They do not really give it much serious thought. The French and the Italians wallow in political “scandal” but only for entertainment. They do not go digging for it, it seems to “pop” up, and over a glass of red wine or an espresso, they discuss the politician’s prowess and their admiration. Is it funny to hear a politician being lewd or sexually offensive? I really do not know one way or another, but it really should not make a difference on how he intends to lead the country.  He is not being elected Pope. There is no white smoke from the Vatican. He is human. As such mistakes are made and will continue to be made. Should he be punished for his imappropriate behaviour? I think his wife will take care of that?

I do not condone any bad behavior especially when elected to a public office. But what happenes years prior should be irrelevant unless it is a capital offense. Being crude in a trailer is hardly that.  No one should be held to the proverbial flames because of something foolish that was said or done many years prior and without relevancy except to destroy the individual. If we are to hold people responsible and to the highest standards for their entire lives, then we need to start vetting all that are currently serving in the Senate and Congress.  Then we should ask those with weak moral fibre to step down. I am sure that eventually we will be without the Senate or Congress. I wonder if that is a bad thing?

The word “spirituality” conjures up visions of big white tent revivals fraught with bible thumping swaying clapping mass hysteria of Alleluia-invoked Christian voices in euphoric organ-grinding din. It is the long thought misconception that one must be religious to be spiritual. A myth created by those who abhor any possibility of a God or higher power in their lives. Why? I have never understood, but I will be presumptuous enough to surmise and possibly theorize on the reasons why “spirituality” is taking a back seat to life “coaching” or other politically correct organic mentorship that supposedly guides people toward a better existence.

No one should have any doubt that the world we are currently living in is out of control and the morons in charge are on the rise. Common sense Armageddon is inevitable if we continue on this path of self indulgence, self absorbency, self destruction, entitlement, politically correct,  and one-size-fits-all unjustified social justice phobia rampant in today’s politics, media, and entertainment. We have become immune to the basic inherent spiritual barometer that we are born into. We basically ignore it. We have become subject to inane guilt and grief pretenses militantly bestowed upon us by those who crave for power through exploitation of the presumed social weak. The conjured up injustices by what the media likes to call “charismatic” leaders, is nothing more than an attempt to persuade and rattle people into thinking that it is someone else’s fault that they find themselves in whatever social state they are in. Albeit the fact that inner cities have had a long history of neglect, poverty, and crime; I know folk who managed to survive, thrive, and even become more successful than their middle-class counterparts in the suburbs. What set them apart? More often than not, although at times raised by a single parent, they were brought up in a spiritual environment. The parent or parents tapped into the inherent quality that was instilled in them as children and demanded discipline, doing the right thing, and yes; attending Sunday church.  I was closely acquainted to such a person. They were three children raised by a single mother in the Bronx. Their mother worked three jobs to send them to parochial schools. But on Sunday they had to wear their “Sunday best”, go to church, and afterwards visit a museum or art gallery.  The two girls grew up to become Valedictorian and eventually graduates of top universities. The brother ended in jail. When I asked how the brother did not pursue the same life style; the answer was that he chose to hang out with gang bangers and went another direction. All three lived together, were raised by the same principles and by the same mother. The brother chose to do wrong.

One might accuse me of going against what I initially stated; that spirituality had little to do with religion or even God. However, although spirituality could be the recognition of a higher source of accountability, it is also a discipline of life which could  also be explained as the strong will to wake up Sunday morning and go to church. Both concepts are separate in substance but connected by objectivity. But let us leave church aside for one moment and concentrate on the spiritual connection to our skills, talents, and successes in life. Spirituality is an inner will to do the right thing. It is our “yellow brick road” toward something better in life. It is also a mental guide that urges us to take the right path toward contentment and fulfillment. Spiritualism is intellectualism sans the cynical satirical disrespect and ridicule of the so called “progressives” of today. I am referring to the self-acclaimed intellectual elites in the media and entertainment industries who deem themselves intellectually  better suited to “do good”  than us spiritual ingrates. They feel entitled to be the chaperons of the down-trodden because they  empathize and accept their lives better than any of us spiritual morons can ever do. They monopolize “doing good”. Which is utterly incongruous and  in contradiction to what the majority of them stand for: the legalization of pot, abortion under the vague and nebulous umbrella of “women’s rights”, downplaying crime to play the “race” card, encouraging weakness through entitlement, and the worst: promoting secularism but conveniently only against the Christian or Jewish faith. Their mantra of global good is hidden under an insidious desire to change a founding way of life born out of pioneer spirituality that they find passe, out dated, and not socially inclusive of life styles that some of us consider not only undesirable, but predominantly harmful to our nation. So they morph spiritualism into “hip” euphemisms like “social justice” which is another term and attempt at  labeling most of us as racist, phobic, religious nuts, and downright stupid. These are the new spiritual philanthropists who want to change a nation’s cultural identity to satisfy theirs.  It is a warped way of thinking which catches on quickly among the brain idle.

Enters  the “earth” culture. The “climate change” “global warming” gurus who have declared war on those who although very concerned about pollution do still possess a reasonable sense of reality when it comes to weather. I decided to check various websites on “climate change”; attempting to find a median consensus that is not skewed in either political or activist direction. Believe it or not, the best website was the EPA: https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/science/causes.html

although politically and partisan leaning, still managed  relatively sane conclusions indicating that both human and natural causes are responsible for climate change. I personally think that we should all do the best we can to protect our planet because it is the only place we seem to thrive on (at least for now). However, my personal responsibility is my spiritual urge to do the right thing; not to pollute, not to waste resources, and to protect the wonders that God gave me for free. That is the spiritual approach to protecting the planet.  Militants and activists are not spiritual: they are tunnel visioned and narrow minded into believing that theirs is the only solution to this issue.

My mother is very fast approaching 100 years of age. She has endured The Depression, World War II, and raising seven of us on a salary of one bread winner: my father. She is very religious but she is also very pragmatic (when she is allowed to be). Our mother and father raised us with one simple principle in mind: work hard and you will succeed.  They also raised us to be individuals. I remember coming home from school with a mediocre report card and my father asking why I had done so poorly. My sassy reply was: “I’m not the only one.” My father’s reply? “You are my daughter and I do not care about the others.” What he was trying to instill in us is the importance of remaining individually accountable and responsible for ourselves and not influenced by others. That remained with me for the rest of my life. My parents’ spirituality was founded on the simple premise that as individuals we are in control of our destinies and our future.  Eventually we might make a positive difference in the world.

The myth that to be spiritual one must be religious has played for far too long. It has been misinterpreted as an excuse to accept all things vulgar, corrupt, and harmful.  We need to resume nurturing young people into believing that as individuals spirituality guides them through the difficult twists and turns of life.  Young people seem to have lost any sense of direction in life and succumb very quickly to disillusion as soon as things go awry. Hence the rise in teen suicide.  However, as a nation, we must regain our lead as a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. Without our spiritual heritage any attempt at protecting our nation or the rest of the world from evil will be futile. Our strength lies in the fundamental belief that as a nation we have God on our side. No other nation on earth has demonstrated strength in the face of adversity like our nation. No other nation on earth has gone to the aid of others like our nation. And no other nation   on earth has fought on foreign soil to liberate others like our nation. Such valor and strength is not borne out of cliches but out of an inner strength that pushes a nation into doing the right thing: and we so need that valor and spirituality right now!

The world has become a platform of discontent and intolerance by those who actively shout the rest of us down in the name of “tolerance.” Activism has turned into the militant stifling of opinions, ideas, and thought. The recent surge of justified thuggery in the hope to persuade those of opposite opinion that they are pond scum; has risen in alarming proportions. These intolerable activists will undoubtedly put themselves in the same genre as Martin Luther King Jr or even Mahatma Gandhi. The problem with such assimilation is the fact that half of our country’s intellectual elites are educationally ignorant and I am sure that if asked, they would think that these two men are night show hosts!

Those raised in the 60’s remember the Civil Rights marches and the relevant speeches by Martin Luther King. We wondered about this man’s courage and the courage of those who marched with him; black or white. All marched toward the obvious need for social change, justice, and yes: tolerance. The movement took a life of its own because those activists woke us up from our “safe zone” stupor to give us a much needed conscientious kick in the butt toward expunging the evil of allowing another human being’s degradation. There was no question, no hesitation, and no second guessing as to the  injustice that had prevailed for so long. It was morally wrong and economically redundant; because to survive and remain a strong and powerful nation, we had to embrace all of our “We the people” and integrate them into our great society. That was activism toward spirituality and moral justifiable change.  What has changed since the Civil Rights movement? What has turned legitimate activism against evil into unequivocal intolerance?

We are breeding and raising  a generation of entitlement and intolerance under the auspice of justice and social equality. Martin Luther King’s cries for equality were founded in the constitutional integrity that “all men are created equal.” Mr.  King was concerned about basic human inequalities that judged one race above another both humanely and intellectually. He knew that once tolerance was achieved, social and economic equality will follow; allowing everyone to have access to the same opportunities toward the American Dream. Nowhere and never did he ever mention entitlement toward the “pursuit of happiness and liberty”.  Currently however, politicians, self-interest groups, and academia self-righteous elitists, have become the leading manipulators of truth. They manipulate history to instigate unfounded grievance. They delve into the annals of history to find relevancy in their cry of victimization and entitlement. Why? Because it is a well paid industry. The intolerant industry led by wealthy charlatans (of all races and gender),  manipulate political parties, government departments, entertainment, and the media: becoming wealthier through  multi-million dollar law suits and social extortion. They play the race and gender card in an obscene attempt at going after those they disagree with. These champions of intolerance make millions by squeezing the rest of us into submission. They go after businesses, universities, churches, and the government in the hope of replacing our country’s constitutional values and freedoms with an insidious representation of equality based solely on their interpretation of “justice”. They are well funded and prepared to enslave the rest of us into submission and into giving up what our founding fathers gave us: our rights. America was not built on the assumption that some of us do the work and others reap half of the award. It was built on the concept of voyeurism, creativity, courage, and the belief that if one works hard, follows valuable basic human and social principles, and helps others in the pursuit of happiness: one would  eventually reach the American Dream. Nowhere in the constitution is there written the right to social equality without self determination or responsibility.

How have we arrived at a point in our Great Society when social and constitutional manipulation is acceptable? Universities are no longer institutions of higher learning or intellectual creativity. They are now the bedrock of activist fascism veiled under the pretense of social justice. One would think that we are back in Bolshevik Russia when uprising against the Imperial Crown albeit justified in many ways, found it reasonable to murder the Tsar and his family in the name of Common Good. For the next 70 years Russia and its Soviet Empire wallowed in the Common Good and could hardly feed their own people. How about that for social equality? The Russians all wanted what “the haves” had but never got it, because the very social activists who promised “equality” enslaved the population for the next 70 years. Universities are ripe for dissent because they are filled with kids who have not lived long enough to experience life let alone social injustice. Like 100 years ago, universities are employing activist professors who consider themselves the intellectual elite; the cream of political science (whatever that is); attempting to brainwash  our youth toward a Marxist communist philosophy that what ails the country must be the fault of those who are better off than I am! How simplistic, how poignantly Zhivago-ist, how inane! What do they get out of it? My theory: Power. Power in shaping and molding  young minds into gradually changing the social and moral fiber of our country. What could be more tolerant?

Before the Berlin wall “came down” and the Soviet Union agonizingly morphed into the “former Eastern Bloc”; those of us stationed in Europe took frequent short trips to Eastern European countries, out of curiosity and eager to discover what went on behind “the iron curtain”. We walked the bare streets of East Berlin, bumping into the few sour looking locals who ventured out not because there was anything or anywhere to go, but because they had to. The few shops available to them were meager at best and depressing at most. Shops laden with “western” products were purposely on “show” for the benefit of us from the west or diplomats; demonstrating undoubtedly that the east “had it good” as the west. The latter argument evaporated like bad perfume on a hot day when we picked up a can of Heinz Baked Beans priced at $10! In the 70’s and early 80’s, $10 was a week’s salary for an East German. I vividly remember one episode which quickly made me realize that manipulated social justice enslaved people into bare existence. On one of our East Berlin jaunts, we went to the only “large” department store in the city. We noticed a rack of children’s clothing; all the clothes were the same size and color. We politely asked if there were other sizes or colors available. The abrupt “nein” sent us reeling back a few paces but we persevered. When would they have other sizes or colors? A faint audible voice in the back of the line replied: “who knows, maybe next month, maybe next year.” This had to lead to another inane question from the “west”: “suppose you need another size?” The reply; “you wait.” So much for social justice and tolerance! A fine example of distribution of wealth and misery! But I digress.

The Civil Rights movement brought to the surface true injustices, true reforms, and true equality to our nation. It did not pick or chose the gender, color, or religion. That is why Martin Luther King’s speech “I have a dream” remains poignant, relevant, and decisive to this very day. It was a lateral speech; spreading across all social boundaries. A speech that set our spirits on fire and took everyone to task including Martin Luther King’s people. How have we abandoned this noble path and taken on the gravel of half-truths, self-serving charlatans, and instigators? When did activism become so intolerant? How are we to move forward when freedom of speech is violently shut down, and where intolerance in the name of tolerance attempts to rob the rest of society of its right to express another opinion? Why would anyone supposedly fighting for equality and justice make it a mission in life to curtail freedom of expression to those of opposite views and opinions? What inane logic is moving people to think that individual thought is only valid when it applies to them? Martin Luther King and others marched from Selma to Montgomery Alabama in defiance knowing full well that good was on their side. They were not self-indulgent whiners or malcontent; but a bona fide activist group who called and fought for social tolerance of each individual “under God.” That noble notion has long been lost in empty cerebral teleprompter rhetoric behind podiums and in university halls.

We are living in a Botox self-centered egotistic victim-induced society that breathes malcontent  where none exists and where individuals truly believe that they are entitled to have whatever anyone else has. In the old days we called it “covet.” It is actually in the bible. The Ten Commandments to be exact. According to the 10th Edition of the Merriam’s Webster Dictionary, “to covet” is to “desire what belongs to another inordinately or culpably”. In basic English it means: to want what you are not entitled to. But then who reads the Bible or Webster’s Dictionary? After all isn’t the Holy Book  considered intolerant?  Our country has lost its spiritualism. Contrary to popular belief, spiritualism goes far beyond religious beliefs; spiritualism is the moral and value compass that gives us the ability to distinguish right from wrong. It is also a basic inherent quality that drives one to work hard, conquer adversity, and ultimately achieve. That “spirit” was the strength that drove thousands to the shores of our country in the last two centuries. Unfortunately, it has been replaced with an apathetic attitude driven home at childhood by inept parents who do not parent, schools that do not teach, and a media that no longer reports but follows the political flavor of the month. No doubt our young generation is screwed up. No doubt we find politicians who are borderline communist: attractive. And no doubt that our country is sliding into oblivion decline economically, academically, and spiritually.

In 1921, my grandfather left a small Mediterranean island for America. He was not suffering in Europe, but he wanted something better. He felt the need to cross the Atlantic and follow his instincts that across that vast sea life would be better. He believed that he could build a better future for his family. His spirit of the fundamental right to pursue happiness was successful. Eventually he paid for his family to join him. My mother was seven at the time. They settled in Manhattan, New York City, and lived to enjoy America and become successful despite The Depression and a World War on the horizon. That spirit of courage and tenacity remained with my mother throughout her life. She later left America to move back to Europe, start a family through the blitz of World War II, and eventually raising seven of us in post-war Europe. Adventurers like my grandfather, built a strong nation never expecting anything from anyone. They built businesses and worked hard knowing that the “spirit” of America would sustain them and launch them into a better life. They never asked for hand-outs but built a nation that fought evil on two continents and became a beacon of hope for millions. America was built on the concept of freedom: freedom of choice, opinion, thought, and creativity. The country was also built on courage: courage to fight against evil, courage to change, courage to lead the world against oppressors.  Finally: our America, was built on the principle that we all have the  right to pursue happiness, and not the right to expect it. In the famous words of John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country”. Maybe his party should recite those words once in a while as a reminder of what they used to be and not the caricature that they have become.  Click on the link, and read John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Speech: he said everything his party now denounces; to include God.

http://www.powerfulwords.info/speeches/John_F_Kennedy/5.htm

Activism is part of the American genre. It is also the fundamental right of every individual to fight toward  justifiable change. What it should not be is: an excuse to hinder freedom of speech, individual expression, diverse opinion, religious freedom, and political choice. Be an activist but remain tolerant. Without tolerance, activism looses relevancy and becomes a bad cliche’ on a cheap coffee cup!

Amid the mayhem and incompetency of  global leadership that has led us into Bedlam; the top ten most aggravating and nail scratching things that sent me through the roof and got me foaming at the mouth were:

Number 10:  

Being told that as a tax payer I subsidize cell phones to those on government assistance. Disregarding the cutesy reference to the cell phones as “Obama phone:”  it sent chills down my spine. Why cell phones? A sane person might ask. For emergencies I was told. So I ask: What did welfare recipients do pre-cell phone era? Did FDR give out cell phones during the depression? And who determines the “emergency?” So many questions so few answers.

Number 9:

The military subsidizing transgender surgery. That’s correct folks. A “he” who wants to become a “she” or vice versa: anyone unsure of who they are, were, or supposed to be. You can ask the military to pay for a transgender surgery and it will be done.  Worth in some cases five figure tax payers’ dollars. Now I ask: do corporate employees ask a CEO for free transgender surgery? I don’t think so. So why is the tax payer and the military going along with this and footing the bill? This surgery is also available to convicts; really! So I have a solution. If you are a “he” and wants to be a “she?” I have a deal for you: give me a pair of scissors and I will snip away free of charge.

Number 8:

The assault on American traditions. In October, a nut case wanted to rename Columbus Day weirdly referencing  indigenous injustices. The activism around traditional holidays has reached epidemic proportions and the idiots are taking over our rights and chipping at our way of life under the insidious pretext of Freedom of Speech. This same nut went on a verbal rampage about Columbus being a murderer. Really? Activists now look for historical “injustices” to justify bad behavior and annoyance. They have become ludicrous, pathetic, and very boring. However: they all enjoy the days off!

Number 7:

The legalization of “pot” set me on fire in March. At a time when American society is going downhill faster than a snowball on the Zutzpitz, some of “we the people” voted to legalize “dope.” The substance touted as harmless by brainless politicians and pseudo 60’s activists who want to make a buck, turned some of our towns into miniature pot havens. So we take umbrage at cigarette vending machines because of the “kids” but we are Ok with legalizing a substance that keeps one impaired after consumption? How many school bus drivers in Denver have inhaled a reefer prior to driving your kids to school? Why do you think we called it “dope” in the 60’s?

Number 6: 

The first  Paris attack in January on Charlie Hebdo. This ticked me off to no end because other three attacks had already taken place in France; all perpetrated  by Islamic extremists. After Charlie Hebdo, a solidarity march by world leaders to include German Chancellor Merkel and Netanyahu marched through Paris as a sign of leadership and support. Who was missing? Our very own “you know who” who decided to  stay home in the White House: with his wife, vice-president, secretary of state, attorney general, and anyone else worth mentioning. They must have been playing canasta. What a disgrace! Of course a few days prior our fearless leader calmly and eloquently declared ISIS contained! How did that containment work out Mr. President?

Number 5:

The fall of Ramadi to extremists in May. This was a personal blow. In 2006, we lost many soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 1st Armor Div, Ready First Combat Team. Ramadi produced widows, Gold Star mothers, and orphans,when our soldiers fought and won back the city. To publicly say that Ramadi did not matter was a slap in the face to those of us who stood side by side with the families who lost a loved one. For a former general who was a prior CG of the forces in Iraq to say that Ramadi was inconsequential: was an insult. Do we still think that Ramadi does not matter?

Number 4:

The burning of Baltimore and America in May. The polarization of our nation came to a head in May.  Open war was declared on the police across the nation because of a shooting in Baltimore.  A shooting that was provoked yet used as an excuse for grievances. Instead of uniting the country, our leadership stoked the fires of hatred, division and racism by justifying the looting and thugery of those involved.  Anyone objecting to the disgraceful conduct  and lawlessness were labeled racists or worse. Once again, and under incompetent and self-absorbed leadership: the roles of perpetrator and victim were reversed. Is Baltimore any better now than before?

Number 3:

The second Paris attack by Islamist extremist in November. Paris bled but our president had climate change on his mind. I am certain that the victims’ families really cared about a warmer winter or wetter summers! How “dopey” is “dopey?” The blatant distraction to leadership incompetence was evident but some Kool Aid drinkers still went along on the climate change yellow brick road. People died and the leader of the free world was concerned about a change in the weather. If it were not so stupid and inane it would be tragic. I am sure that the terrorists are terrified of climate change Mr. President; that’s why a month later they attacked our homeland!

Number 2:

The summer killing of the four marines in Chattanooga by an Islamist extremist.  Four marines at a recruiting station were unarmed and gunned down.The killer took their lives without a second thought. Cannot remember what ticked me off more: the fact that they were unarmed marines and could not defend themselves, or the fact that they died in an attempt to recruit others to join the Corps and do the right thing for America! Semper Fi!  The marines died at the hands of Islamic extremists, and our leadership demanded gun control for Americans!

Number 1:

The December attack in San Bernardino, California by Islamic extremists. The surreal rhetoric after the fact sent me into a frenzy. One more time we were told not to blame Islam but the terrorists. Well go figure. However, Mr. President have you noticed a unique pattern here? Paris, Chattanooga, and San Bernardino: they were not Episcopalians who shot to kill: they were Islamic.  What a coincidence!

Going into 2016 I am truly hoping that my blood pressure is not tested to the extent that it was in 2015. A few hints to those who ticked me off:

Mr. President: you have a marginal opportunity before you leave office to get off your prompter and write a few words from the heart that mean something. Quit blaming everyone and everything American for the evil acts of those who prefer to follow a faith that seems to perpetuate hatred against us. Be true to yourself and to us: Islamists as defined by their current acts: have little regard for human life, treat women like crap, marry girls off before they are teens, and have no qualms in beating anyone to death they deem deserving. Is this way of life what you aspire for your nation? The nation you swore to protect? The nation that gave you enough opportunity to lead it? Do me and others a favor: tell the truth and grow a set of balls. Then go after these bastards before they kill us in our beds. That is when  I will not be ticked off at you any longer.

Activist: do not become annoying in your continual whining and demands for justice without a cause. Because you think it unjust it does not mean that it is. Also: quit wasting my tax payer’s money on your pet peeves. For example: quit demanding the government not to drill for oil or mine for resources because some obscure insect will go extinct. Dinosaurs went extinct. Would you have liked them to still roam your neighborhood?  Also: lay off Christmas, Easter, Columbus Day, and any other holiday we all enjoy. It is your right not to like it for some warped reason most of us do not understand,  but leave me and others to enjoy it. It is not you being an activist that ticks me off, but it’s the unreasonable demands your activism puts on my life that sends me round the bend.

Atheists etc: I do not care whether you believe in mother earth, Stonehenge, or a pet rock: let me enjoy my faith. You are quick to point out the separation of state and church; yet you thrash my faith at every opportunity. If you are so true to your belief that there is no God or higher entity, be quiet and let me express my freedom and right under the first amendment to pray to my God. The same amendment that gives you the right to be uncouth and intolerant of my religion and my church. I will not be ticked off at you if you want to celebrate sister moon as long as you respect my personal preferences on worship.

My mother turned 99 this year.  She looks at the world in a perplexed way because she cannot comprehend the angst that this generation seems to impose on itself. She lived through WWII in a rock shelter for four grueling years and with continual Luftwaffe bombings overhead. She does not dwell on it and she has not required a psychiatrist or analyst to tell her that eventually time heals all wounds. Her generation were resilient and fought for good against evil without reservations. They had convictions. They did not make excuses. WWII veterans returned from war eager to get on with their lives. Yet they never expected anyone to ask them to apologize for what they had to do to save our freedom and to save others from the prevalent evil of that time.  They did not talk about “closure” or amends. They spoke about heroism and determination in defeating the enemy. They knew who the enemy was identified him as such.

We find ourselves in trouble because we have become a generation of apologists who cannot “tell it straight” any more. This generation is more judgmental than any other I have ever known. They preach tolerance and diversity yet they are the most intolerant lot I have ever  seen. They do not want to be judged but they sure judge others especially those in disagreement with them. Look at what is happening on college campuses. Pseudo intellectual twits refusing to listen to any opinion other than their own. Hence they refuse speakers like Condoleezza Rice, Ann Coulter, Dick Cheney, and many others who the intellectual snobs consider unworthy because they do not walk the same walk or talk the same talk. Such ignorance and intolerance is not only incomprehensible but bordering on McCarthyism. These are our future leadership. Heaven help us.

As I enter the new year, I am hoping that my aggravations diminish; that would mean that the world is getting somewhat better and less stupidity for me to get ticked off about. Marching toward a new year is always inspiring. Hoping to fix the broken or starting anew. Very idealistic and to some extent childish. However, I am excited anticipating the new year because it is a count down toward a big change in my life: my retirement. Am I scared? Not really. Am I nervous? A little. Am I excited? A lot. I am imagining that I can march into a future equipped with nothing but my experience, knowledge, and personal charm! So, here’s to 2016 and may we see less tragedy, more competence, more leadership, and less for me to get annoyed at. One can only hope.  Happy New Year.

I confess: I am a social media junkie. I also admit that I am beginning to find social networking just another avenue for this generation to spread their pseudo social activism angst among the rest of us mere mortals . Last weekend was Columbus Day: a day when we used to celebrate the man who sailed across the seas, against all odds, and who finally landed on what it will eventually be known as America. We should be thrilled at this adventure. But no; Columbus has fallen victim to the loony activism virus holding America and to some extent the rest of the world captive. One bizarre social media post urged all of us to declare Columbus day “murder day” because he murdered the indigenous folk without remorse and with conviction. My answer to this person and others of that ilk: get over it! It was over 500 years ago, I wasn’t here and neither were you, the guy is dead, the natives have since lived in peace with us, they make money through profitable casinos which rip the rest of us off, and they don’t pay taxes. How much guilt can one take on for something that happened before one’s time and when we were not even a nation? What do you want from me? You want me to admit that Columbus is a murderer and that I should not enjoy my day off? Go to Denver for some pot and leave me alone. Why can’t activist allow me and others to enjoy holidays? If you do not like the day; don’t celebrate it but do not rain on my parade because it is getting annoying.

This generation is a depressed lot who are not happy with themselves and want to spread their misery to others. I find them petty, whiney, and definitely annoying. For the life of me I have no clue why they are so ungrateful and miserable. They have been raised with the best technology, best education, best opportunities, and moving back home with “mom” is now considered fashionable. What do you want from me? Why the angst? Why the “occupying” of anything you think is unfair? Well, I got news for you; life is unfair especially if you expect others to live it for you. What grabs my clams is the fact that their self indulgent goodness and fairness they aspire to selfishly threads on my rights to be who I am and enjoy what I want. Their activism borders on hypocrisy, because as I said to the anti-Columbus self-righteous diva: I am sure that you still enjoyed the federal holiday! This goes for all those yahoos who are anti-religious because religion is for morons but still enjoy the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center, expect a good meal on Christmas Day, and pout if they do not receive a gift on the 25th. These are the same bores who will gnaw at my Christmas spirit to satisfy their own misery because they believe in nothing but themselves. Which brings me to the next question? What has happened since Miracle on 34th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life? What anti-life gene crept in this generation’s gene pool to sprout such a miserable lot? Who is to blame and what do you want from me?
My theory is quite simple: children are being raised with the false impression that they are God’s gift to mankind. The problem is that they are only God’s gift to the parents who hatched them and not to the rest of us. So when they grow up thinking that whatever they do and say is gospel, the first time truth-in-life-experience hits them in the face they crumble like an over baked meringue. It is so unfair!! Yeah: what is unfair is the fact that because you were raised to feel omnipotent I have to eventually suffer your inadequate preparation to life and consequent dependency on my tax dollars. Why do you think parents are opening up their attics and basements to their prodigal sons and daughters? Because the home where the “perfection” syndrome was perpetuated has morphed into the embryonic haven of the prodigal child. “Mom, I’m back. Am I still great even though at 30 I cannot put two sentences together and have to move back to the basement? Are you going to say Good Job like you used to?”

We have brain washed our kids into thinking that they will be protected by someone of something for the rest of their lives. We pad them, put helmets on them, tell them that they have rights in the classroom, in the street, and in their job. They are brought up thinking that bad behavior is OK because it is “normal” and the rest of us are creeps if we even hint that they have become morons. Instead of teaching consequences we teach victimization. They are growing up feeling marginalized because they are not ready for the real world. The first time they are dissatisfied they take to the streets complaining about a man who died 500 years ago with no bearing on their lives except a free federal holiday. They become activists by virtue of their hollow expectations. They cannot handle the cold shower of life: they do not get the girl, the car, the grades, the scholarship, or the job they want. Devastation sets in. Utter mental chaos. Normal passage to life experience is now a major issue to be pondered and analyzed on a shrink’s couch. How pathetic, how sad, and how tragic for our future, our country, and the world. But why have parents taken this path toward unaccountability and false expectations?

My mother will soon turn 99. She is frail but she remains steadfast in her opinions of mother hood and life in general. She now spends her days observing the rest of us acting like goofs. When I spend time with her she reminisces of her childhood in Hell’s Kitchen on the west side of Manhattan. As immigrants from Europe, life was anything but easy; but to hear her talk, one would think that childhood during the Depression were the best days of her life. The difference between my mother’s generation and this one lies in the expectations people had then to those that people have now. My mother’s parents did not shield their children from the harsh realities of life in New York City in the late 20’s and early 30’s. They were not afraid to tell the kids that certain amenities were beyond their reach. However, the encouragement was to work hard toward financial, spiritual, and social success. Children grew up watching their parents do that. That fortitude and sense of “being” sent a generation to fight the evils of World War II in Europe and the Pacific and return victorious and triumphant. My mother’s generation had the backbone to withstand hardships and create the platform where technological wonders were launched.
I feel sorry for this generation because they were denied the opportunity to be relevant. Is there so much time to waste in their lives that they must think up probabilities for disenchantment? Are their lives so irrelevant that they have to pull out social justice criteria from the pages of history? And as they march in another banal attempt to fight an other perceived social injustice I have to ask: What do you want from me?

Cannot get away from it, not even if you lived deep in the aborigine jungles of South America; Bruce Jennings’ transformation to a woman, and a beautiful one at that. I remember Bruce in 1976 as the Olympic gold medalist who kicked butt and later adorned everyone’s morning with his perfect physic on a box of Wheaties. He was a role model and inspiration to other athletes around the world. Now he is an inspiration in another way: to those who are caught between genders.

When we were kids there was a woman we made fun of who lived in our town. We called her “Mary man” because she was a woman but had many features and mannerisms of a man. Years later I found out that she was one of those unfortunates caught between genders and with no source of comfort, assistance, or even compassion. She was tall, but well spoken, yet hardly anyone spoke with her. As a matter of fact her family who were well off and in the upper crust of society, literally abandoned her. I now regret the open callous and uncharitable cruel way we made fun of her, but we did not know any better. Fast forward to this week and Bruce Jennings: the sympathy and compassion gravitas is overwhelming to the point of sainthood. Why is this generation so tolerant and to some extent so much more compassionate than those of us born 60 years ago? What makes this generation so “comfortable” with what we used to consider “strange” or “unnatural?” Were we worse people?

Years ago we were raised in a close confined society fraught with social propriety handed down from generation to generation. Some of it good but other rather nebulous in origin, logic, and reasoning. My theory is that a more educated population, more scientific research, and better understanding of the human physic led us to realize that we are all unique. When I was a child there were two classifications for children: bright or stupid. Needless to say many of us were in the latter category because we were not evaluated by our inherent talents and skills but by the robotic-style of teaching that expected us all to achieve at the same level and pace. What our parents and society considered success was not necessarily compatible to our individual needs and characteristics; therefore some of us rebelled and ventured toward the unknown and eventual successful lives. I do not blame our prior generation either because they did not know any better and did not have the technology that can uncover and determine a child’s gender a month after conception! Education was not predisposed toward discovery, engagement, fulfillment, and self-determination; but rather toward a stable life. “He finally made something of himself,” as my mother and father so often said of others. Forget the aspirations of becoming an artist, chef, singer, dancer, or any other scope in life that would make us who we wanted to be. My father always wanted us to work in banks because that was his preconception of success. Years later it pained me that I could not share the day I became a bank manager with him. He would have beamed with pride and joy! Some of today’s generation go to school and work toward self-fulfillment and measure success with “happiness.” They do not look too much into the monetary side of success but more on the intellectual side of life. They see others as an extension of themselves, and when one of “them” hurts they inadvertently hurt as well. Hence enters Bruce Jennings and his torturous life as a man, or so he put it. The story tugs at the very heart of the liberal social elite as they consider themselves the saviors of the world and the monopoly on “compassionate.” But should we not all be feeling the same way? Should not compassion be the mantra of our very existence? Should not compassion define us as the “good guys?” Compassion should be inclusive, right? But is it? Do we pick and choose what we are compassionate about?

Years ago the Catholic church faced an Armageddon of priest pedophiles who were demonized by the media and the “compassionate” idealists. Pedophilia to some extent is a disease because the pedophile cannot help himself/herself in doing what he/she does. This is the reason why pedophiles should never be allowed to associate with children regardless whether they go to jail or not. They cannot help themselves and they cannot be “cured.” And as despicable as the act is; pedophiles need severe psychological help. Yet the public felt more compassion for the alcoholics and drug addicts than these guys. Why? Probably because we do not like to see bad things happen to children. And rightly so! But similar outrage is absent when it comes to drugs and their horrific effect on our children. As a matter of fact we want to have an open drug society and label addicts and dealers as non-violent folk who deserve better than being in jail. Alcoholics have been known to destroy families and children’s lives but they are also labeled as “sick.” But let one of us mention a Catholic priest pedophile and we might as well mention the second coming of Beelzebub. I am not championing the pedophile priests; I think they were and are scum, but I am curious how this generation chooses its “compassion” activism. Should not compassion be a blanket feeling? Should not compassion spread its white fluffy wings in protection over every “sick” individual? Should we not feel for the plight of every “illness” as defined in current times? Would not the list include: addicts, alcoholics, pedophiles, nymphomaniacs, gamblers, transgender, animal fetishes, electronic fetishes (watch Boston Legal), and other criteria I fail to mention. I am not diminishing the compassion “factor” but I am questioning the way this generation chooses its compassion “readings.” My theory is that in recent years Hollywood has gone on the “compassionate” band wagon, because most of them are addicts, alcoholics, and narcissists themselves so it is easy to “feel for others.” Whitney Houston died of a drug overdose in a bathtub and the world rightly so mourned because we lost an amazing talent, but no one condemned the life style that literally put her under water. Her daughter followed suit and the compassion runs rampant without giving any accountability to a dysfunctional bad life style. Both women had everything a woman would and could desire but chose to take the road to self-destruction. In both cases, the idealists’ compassion quotient is off the chart. The accountability and stupid quotient is negligible and not even mentioned.

I am glad that Bruce Jennings and others like him on both sides of the fence can now find peace with themselves. It must be awful to live in a confusing world and a body that must seem foreign to you. It is equally awful to have others view you as a monster like we had done as kids to “Mary man.” She must have gone through hell especially in the 50’s and 60’s when people in her condition were abhorred and worse: ignored. I am glad that I feel compassion for Bruce because he was an amazing athletic and an overall “good guy.” People like him are an inspiration to others because he had the courage to change who he was into what he wants to be. I cannot start to imagine the pain it took to make the ultimate decision. It is also great that we are living in a society where people like Bruce Jennings are not ostracized but loved for who they are as human beings and for what they have accomplished. I am proud to live in a society where we stand by the Bruce Jennings of this world and cheer them on into success. However, I want society to show the same compassion it is showing Bruce Jennings to others who are not celebrities and whose lives are as just as turbulent and desperate. Our veterans suffering from PTSD come to mind. We ignored them when they returned from WW II, we treated them like garbage when they returned from Vietnam, and we finally accepted their plight when they returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.

I thank this generation for giving me an insight into myself and for making me more compassionate and tolerant. My regret is that some of the current penchant for compassion is being driven by political and partisan agendas that have little to do with social justice but more with social power. Their display of compassion does not impress me: I find it shallow. So here is my compassion criteria: I do not have compassion for those who insist on living a life style that harms them and those around them. I will not waste my compassion on those who intentionally hurt others under the auspice of “sickness,” and I will not elevate any of the above into victimhood in the name of “compassion.” Compassion is too fragile, precious, and pure to be wasted on fakes, idiots, and degenerates.

The “new 40” will remember the movie Gigi with Maurice Chevalier, Hermoine Gingold, and Louis Jourdan. Set in Paris on the turn of the 20th century, it defied all propriety of upper crust Parisian social life. Gigi was a young girl raised by aunts to be a courtesan. Filmed on location in Paris and released in 1958 it won accolades on almost every level of cinematography; including music. One song in particular sticks to the very fibers of my mind. Sung by Maurice Chevalier and Hermoine Gingold it clearly defines my feelings about today’s parenting, youth, and society. The song was entitled: “I’m so glad I’m not young anymore.” How apropos!

Addressing baby boomers and the “new 40” club; what has changed? Why do I feel a sigh of relief that I am not raising kids in the 21st century? Why do I secretly wish that like some species, some children should be devoured at birth? I was young when Rock an’ Roll hit our world hard like a fist through a dry wall. It was right up in our faces. Our parents were livid because the “crazy” gyrating music would lead us toward “no good.” Elvis Presley had set the world on fire to be followed closely by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and myriad of other long-haired gyrating “yea, yea, yea” bands that made us scream to a frenzy. Nonetheless, eventually we all knew and realized that our parents ruled and that at some point in life we had “to make something” of ourselves. The “making something” expression was universally and globally prevalent because in our days parents really cared about their children’s future. Our parents transferred their own life expectations to us: their kids. Not so much that they wanted to live our lives, but wanting to make sure that we could cope with life and eventually take care of ourselves as adults. In time we all outgrew our “yea, yea, yea” long-haired days and “made something” of ourselves.

Fifty, forty, thirty, and even twenty years ago; one rarely heard of teen suicide, teen murder, or any relative serious teen lawlessness. Gangs in large cities were more interested in stealing tires off cars then sell hard drugs and kill. The West Side Story romantic side to gangs was more about surviving the inner cities as immigrants, protecting families and turf. The “Tony and Maria” teen gang element seems naïve compared to the hard core criminal and dangerous element of today’s gang warfare. What has turned our youth into the worst version of themselves? Why are today’s young adults so bent on making the wrong choices and ruining their lives? Why are children so easily warped into joining gangs, terrorist groups, and losers? What has happened to the “make something of yourself” parenting guidance and love?

Would I want to be young today? Hell no! Would I want to be a young parent today? Equally and emphatically hell no! What has gradually eroded parenting, and why? My theory is not popular but sustainable. Motherhood went under attack in the late 60’s early 70’s by well-intentioned women’s groups who equated being a mother with being brainless, unsociable, unproductive, and frankly useless to society. Their idea of a liberated woman was a woman who sought employment (not necessarily a career) and attempted to raise a family at the same time. Not necessarily doing both well either. This was glorified even in commercials: remember “bringing home the bacon?” A woman cooking bacon for her family’s breakfast dressed in a business suit. Women were brainwashed to believe that they could do it all; and well! Mysteriously enough none of the women’s groups led by NOW (National Organization for Women) ever elaborated on why going out to work in lieu of raising a family was liberating to women? I raised many an eyebrow when confronted by “liberated” females who belittled my contribution to society because I stayed home to raise my kids. I articulately asked if having children for the purpose of having them raised by strangers was in their parenting plan? To this day I have yet to receive an intelligent coherent answer; probably because there is none. One cannot profess to be of deep liberal views when one does not accept other options to liberalization: such as opting to stay home and raise the kids. The one sided “liberation” argument became self- destructive as these hard core activists failed to recognize themselves as the protagonists of a movement that disenfranchised women who chose to be “mothers” rather than just womb donors.

Thus started the disintegration of the oldest profession (besides prostitution) in the world. In 50 years we managed to take the family unit and banish it from society: why? Oh yes…the economy…cannot afford to raise families…heard it all before. We have reduced parenting to a chore, a hardship, a social dilemma. We have convinced young families that they cannot raise a family on one salary, and that staying home raising children is somehow counterproductive to success and a happy life. Really? Seen any over-the-moon over-joyed dual-career or dual-salary parents lately?  Why are these folk having kids anyway if they do not want to raise them? What is the point? Has parenting become a hobby, or a commodity, like a new BMW? Is parenting a mere social standing among the liberated elite? For example movie stars collect children like we used to collect Hummel figurines: just to say that we had one! Children are now a bargaining chip in political campaigns: the debate on conception has been going on for 40 years and it will go on for another 40 because it provides fodder for good campaign slogans. Parents, especially women, are caught in the disingenuous concern to freedom by activists, whose only concern is a fine-tuned “tunneled” agenda discriminating against families wanting to “raise” their children in lieu of having them “raised.”

This generation of children, youth, and young adults stand little chance of cultivating strong values that our parents had diligently instilled in us. When children are left to their own amusement or in the hands of technology, they develop a distant relationship to the parents who are supposed to be nurturing and guiding. How can a generation of self-absorbed, self-centered adults raise responsible children? What is a child to do when disenfranchised and abandoned by parents and raised by strangers? Should we really be surprised that a gang or terrorist group provides these kids with the nurturing and guidance lacking in the home? Should we really be uber angst because a child seeking some form of parental or adult direction will opt for anything or anyone to fill the empty parental shoes? Is it surprising that this generation of youth cannot handle life set-backs and look for ways to end their lives?

A few weeks ago I watched a family having breakfast. The parents were texting or tweeting or whatever their “I” devices are capable of doing, while the three kids ran wild. The amazing thing was the utter non-engagement of the parents with the children and the equally total lack of parenting. The children stopped their “terrorism” on the rest of the innocent breakfast imbibers when one of us decided to “parent” and yell “stop.” Give you one guess who that was! Even after the intervention, the parents remained totally oblivious to their surroundings and slightly annoyed that their “tweeting” had been interrupted. What is unacceptable is the responsibility such useless parents put on society: society is supposed to raise and discipline their kids. In point in fact: they hatch the morons and we have to put up with them or worse; discipline them! They are prime candidates for gang bangers and terrorists: after all they started young. Who is to blame? I rest my case.

My parents raised seven kids during and after World War II in Europe. My mother had little time to be “liberated,” because between the cooking, cleaning, and washing clothes, she was kept on her feet all day. As a matter of fact I do not remember my mother going to bed or rising in the morning: she was the last to go to sleep and the first to get up. However, we wanted for nothing, or if we had; we did not know any better. As children our pleasures were simple because life was that way. We did not seek gangs because being a sibling in a family of seven one tries to look for peace and quiet and not more chaos. I tried to raise my kids the same way my mother raised us. I was a stay-home mom. It is even silly that we have to give a politically correct title to motherhood: stay-home. In our day; it was a given. If you were a mother or opted to become one you stayed home. But that is a story for another day.

Now I enjoy my “liberated” status albeit I long for the times when I was with my kids and involved in their young lives. They are both adults but they both thank me for “raising” them and not allowing others to do the job for me. Am I liberated? Probably more than any woman I know or knew. I stayed home raising the kids because I wanted to and not because some pinhead woman or organization told me to. Later I went to work and had a successful career because I wanted to and not because I was shamed into doing so by patronizing irrelevant women. I went back to school and finished my undergraduate and graduate degrees because it was my aspiration in life since always, and not because a “liberated” elitist led me to believe that only higher education would give me relevancy as a woman. Do I regret staying home to raise kids? Never.

My experience as a mother and parent led to the success later in life. The hardships and tribulations of raising families give us the fortitude to face life and its ambiguities. Parenting requires a self-less life which is why so many parents become disillusioned with their role as parents. This generation of parents have been molded to believe that society owes them something, and we cannot expect them to change overnight.  How do we break the cycle? How do we turn the clock to when being a parent was the most fulfilling occupation one could experience? Maybe if more of us stepped forward and said “stop:” we might change the trend of poor parenting and save our youth from a hopeless future.

To follow up on my last blog: I have taken time to research the use of marijuana and its effects. Unfortunately research into this subject is very emotional with relatively no middle ground. To eliminate even a hint of fallacy, I read reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) , Drug Free America, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and finally an analysis by the National Health Service (NHS) in the U.K. (the equivalent of ObamaCare in the U.S.). Searching through what is relevant and what is “dopey” (pardon the pun), I attempted to find a common denominator that would at least bring some truth to the subject of cannabis and its effects on those who insist on taking it.

I was disappointed in WHO because most of the so-called “research” articles were published by blatant pro-marijuana activist groups that were if nothing else disingenuous: hiding under the umbrella of WHO and its parent organization the U.N. to push their agenda. These articles were blogged under: the weedblog, hempforfuture, cannabislegal, and of course the mother-load of disingenuous journalism: the huffingtonpost! The blogs and dotcoms quoted and stated that WHO and U.N. “research” discovered that in the past 20 years, drug related laws have failed in keeping people away from drugs and have equally failed in helping those who are addicted to give them up. Surprise: I am in total agreement with this opinion. I am also in agreement that locking a kid up for a reef in his pocket is insane. Having said that: WHO and the U.N. should remain impartial and not succumb or get in bed with activism of any sort. They are supposed to be the global caretakers and policemen of peace and goodness.

Enters Johnny Green (July 22, 2014) in a blog on weedblog.com entitled World Health Organization Calls For Drug Decriminalization; Johnny stated that WHO recommended (quote):
• Countries should work toward developing policies and laws that decriminalize injection and other use of drugs and, thereby, reduce incarceration.
• Countries should work toward developing policies and laws that decriminalize the use of clean needles and syringes (and that permit NSPs [needle and syringe programmes]) and that
legalize OST [opioid substitution therapy] for people who are opioid-dependent.
• Countries should ban compulsory treatment for people who use and/or inject drugs.

Well, well… now enters into the picture Professor Wayne Hall; an “adviser” to WHO on drug addiction. In an October 7, 2014 article by a Telegraph (U.K. major newspaper) reporter (Cannabis can be highly addictive, major study finds), Professor Hall links marijuana “…to a wide range of harmful side-effects from mental illness to lower academic attainment to impaired driving ability.” Professor Hall’s seven major findings were:
• One in six teenagers become dependent on cannabis if used regularly
• Class “B” cannabis can reduce birth weights if used during pregnancy
• Long-term use can result in cancer, bronchitis, and heart attacks
• Long-term use doubles the risk of psychosis and schizophrenia
• Withdrawal from cannabis can cause anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite and depression
• Less than half of those in treatment for cannabis use stay off for six months or more following the treatment
• No cannabis user has ever died of an overdose, however, long-term use is damaging to mental health
The article included a quote by Professor Hall in the Daily Mail (another U.K publication): “If cannabis is not addictive, then neither is heroin or alcohol.” A very provocative statement indeed.

Going through Professor Hall’s findings, I must also admit that some are not surprising. Let’s face it: substance abuse of any kind be it drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes will cause harm to unborn children, may result in cancer, bronchitis, and heart attacks. Alcohol causes liver damage. So keeping all of this in perspective, I find the last statement of Professor Hall the most significant. What he was implying was that no one drug should be dismissed as harmless because then we would be compelled to dismiss all as such. That raised the ante on marijuana. Those zealots who equate marijuana use to alcohol or cigarettes are disingenuous because as Professor Hall stated: “If cannabis is not addictive, then neither is heroin or alcohol.” We should not find the devil only where it is convenient. Bad is bad. We put images of dead lungs and fetuses on cigarette packages to deter cigarette smoking, why isn’t there a campaign to deter marijuana smoking? But I digress! An NHS analysis published on the same day as the Telegraph and Daily Mail report on Professor Hall’s findings, concluded that although Professor Hall’s research was based on observational studies, it was still not “…clear how the author identified the studies used as a basis for the review. This being the case; there may be other studies not included in the review showing negative effect or evidence of physical or psychological harm. However, the analysis concurred that cannabis use could be associated with adverse health effects, and that possibly potential harms have been understated. I admit that I find Professor Hall’s consequential research and conclusions incomplete and nebulous because he did not extrapolate on his methodology, nor on how he compiled his results. Demographics between adults, teens, smokers and non-smokers were not mentioned as being taken into account or included in the study. His report would have been more inclusive and possibly more acceptable if he had given us more insight into his statistics. This does not mean that his research or conclusions should be dismissed. On the contrary; a more in depth report would have been more gratifying regardless of the outcome.

I did not bother to mention information found on websites by DEA or Drug Free America, because they were 180 degrees weighted on the other side of the issue and just as biased as the loony weed bloggers. If we remove pundits, agenda seekers, partisans, pot head loons, ultra traditionalists, and activists; what is left albeit inconclusive is a report by Professor Hall. Keeping in mind that this man is the WHO voice of advice on marijuana, the same organization that wants to legalize drugs, give out free syringes, and do away with compulsory treatment; I am utterly perplexed. The very organization that hires him for advice recommends “solutions” which go against every finding in Professor Hall’s report. Is WHO on dope? Remember when in the 50’s and 60’s doctors tried to convince us that cigarettes were actually good for us? WHO and the U.N. funded by “we the people” of this world disregard their own adviser and encourage countries, many of which suffer because of drug proliferation, to accept substance abuse as a human rights issue rather than a health one. Who exactly elected WHO?

Drugs have been around before history was being made. According to Scott Miller (New Line Theater. 2003), marijuana entered America in 1545 with the Spaniards. In 1611, the English brought it to Jamestown as a major crop which eventually was replaced by cotton. At the turn of the century, Mexican immigrants introduced recreational marijuana which gave those living in the American Southwest a reason for bigotry and hatred as they claimed that whatever the immigrants were smoking was giving them superhuman strength! Go figure! Marijuana remained popular as the recreational drug throughout the 20th and now the 21st century. Although studies and research continue to be conducted on marijuana and its effects, I would presume to say that whether legal or not, any dependence on a substance is not good and should not be encouraged under any pretense. I get annoyed at flippant remarks by politicians, zealots, and any one in between who says that marijuana is harmless. Whether popping pills, drinking bathtub gin, smoking a reef, sniffing glue, or inhaling fumes: if you need drug induced substance to stay alive and alert, then you are not right in the head! And if you follow the flawed logic that dope has been around for thousands of years therefore it is harmless, you are equally clueless. Arsenic has been around for millennial; would you consider taking it?

What is the truth? My opinion: there is none. No amount of research has truly determined the effect of marijuana because variables into usage are not consistent. To get accurate findings a researcher has to gather subjects from various political backgrounds, ethnicity, diversity, education, income, age, gender, religious beliefs, and study them for at least a year to gather a pattern of usage and effects. I do not believe that we have enough evidence to say that marijuana kills or that marijuana is harmless either. Personally I would rather err on the side of those who say that it is bad for you. It is a substance and like any other substance it can be addictive. That is undisputed. Going through websites and information is frustrating because as much as Professor Hall’s research takes a bite out of the notion that the drug is harmless, his research could not come up with one fatality as a result of marijuana usage and his conclusions missed many variables. But the biggest frustration was attempting to locate a report, analysis, or historical data void of emotional baggage. Having read so many blogs I have concluded that no one will ever write a report without a smidgen of bias because the issue of marijuana usage and its effects is so personal that none of us will ever write about it with clarity regardless of the findings. Data can be skewed to satisfy any opinion and therefore conclusions become null and void.

My father was very pragmatic and did not beat around the bush. His opinions were based mostly on his experiences in life. When we attempted to justify bad behavior through the standard adage of: “everyone does it,” his reply was simply: you are not everyone, you are YOU! He was attempting to convey to us that we are responsible for our own destinies. We should be accountable for our choices: good or bad. Whether taking recreational drugs makes you a moron or not is still debatable; but if reported images from the jubilant marijuana imbibers in Colorado and other States are to be taken at face value: then marijuana can make you act like a dolt, but then so can a football game! Who has not witnessed the “home” crowd cheering on their team wearing weird regalia and acting stupid? What is the truth? In the words of the famous Forest Gump: Stupid is as stupid does!

Sources: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11145094/Cannabis-can-be-highly-addictive-major-study-finds.html
http://www.theweedblog.com/world-health-organization-calls-for-drug-decriminalization/
http://www.marijuana.com/news/2014/07/world-health-organization-report-calls-for-global-decriminalization-
of-drug-use/
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/drugs/Pages/cannabis-facts.aspx
http://www.dea.gov/docs/marijuana_position_2011.pdf
http://www.drugfree.org/drug-guide/marijuana/
http://www.newlinetheatre.com/potchapter.html

The 1960’s were an era of madness: down was up and up was down. Skirts went so short that panty hose were invented for women. Men’s hair came down to the shoulders and a generation of youth went around looking like Christ while denouncing religion as anti-social and depriving people of their liberties. Yet, that madness had a corny side to it. It was goofy…a good 60’s word that meant Jerry Lewishly…not taken seriously because the majority of sane people made fun of it. However, there was also relevancy to the goofiness; the youth were protesting the Vietnam War as nightly images on the three major networks showed American soldiers dead or wounded. Technology in the form of television was also bringing into the homes the evil of racism, inequality, and political corruption. So to some extent the “hippy dippy times” of the 60’s changed the way society began to look at politics, civil liberties, and justice for all.

Through the bra burning, the free love mantra, and the flower-power sub consciousness ; we 60’s Baby Boomers managed to survive and send a man to the moon, and become the generation that pushed technology to the forefront of our lives. The generation of pot heads, Woodstock, and Vietnam built this current society of wannabees that want to go back to our time and era with a vengeance. Why? What do they want to take from it? What is being emulated? The 60’s and 70’s were turbulent times that caused  the proliferation of hard narcotics and eventually the lives of many to include Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Elvis Presley, to  name a few. The 60’s were also responsible for the disintegration of traditional families in the name of equality and progress. If I sound like a disillusioned Baby Boomer:  I am. The problem is that what we think is great at 16 is generally banal at 30; and eventually we grow out of that stage. Unfortunately, this generation has taken banal to another level., and instead of embracing the moon landing they are embracing “getting high.”

In the 60’s drug addicts were referred to as “pot heads.” Not an endearing term, but a distinctive term that described those who snuffed, smoked, digested, or otherwise imbibed in “pot.” The term held on to describe those whose elevator in life did not go all the way up. Communities did their best to eradicate pot from neighborhoods because no one wanted a child to be a “pot head.” Fast forward to today: politicians are fighting to legalize pot because it is “harmless” or no more harmful than alcohol or cigarettes.  Really? Is that the argument that should sell us on banal! That is like saying that being run over by a truck is better than jumping off a cliff…equally non-sequitur and does little to dissuade sane people that one bad thing is better than another bad thing. My question remains: why have we given in to these morons? Have we become so immune to stupidity and self-destruction that we cannot differentiate any longer from what is good for us and what is definitely not? Are we so far on the path to self-destruction and insanity that what we considered insane and inane forty years ago is now OK? Has the world gone so mad that those of us who think pot is not OK are being labeled as insensitive, uninformed, even stupid? Really? Remember Forrest Gump: stupid is as stupid does! I am stupid because I think that someone high on marijuana has no business driving a car, piloting a plane, fixing my car, taking my kid to school, teaching my kid, cooking for me in a restaurant, and being my doctor? Well, label me stupid why don’t you, because I guarantee you that I should be in the majority not minority. Oh yes, lest we forget…medicinal pot! Let me remind…medicinal marijuana was never a question for legalization because doctors prescribed it to cancer patients without hesitation. Oh yes…the jails are full of innocents who smoked pot and got arrested. And that is bad how? It is proven and narrated by addicts themselves that they started with marijuana and went on to harder drugs. Remember Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears?  I have never known anyone who went from smoking a  Marlboro Light to sniffing crack! But above all this rhetoric; why are we so bent on promoting and encouraging pot smoking? Why do we go after a cigar smoker minding his own business in the park but give pot heads a free pass? Why do we send alcoholics to AA but send addicts to get more pot? Are we nuts or what?

We must be either nuts or plain stupid. We are both for electing officials who think that being “high” is ok. We are also morons for believing that smoking any substance will have no long-term effect on our society. Have we not learned anything from cigarette smoking? After all we banned smoking from buildings and some over-the-top zealots are after drivers smoking cigarettes in their cars. And remember, cigarettes are a legal substance. Yet we find nothing wrong in dolling out pot like confetti. I rest my case: the world has gone mad. Can we save it? Can we reverse the trend of moronic behavior? Can we bring back traditional ideals of self-accountability, responsibility and self-pride? Why are we so bent into taking our society back into the 60’s? Sobriety should be the norm and not the odd.

Up is down and down is up. Patriotism, spirituality, traditional families, accountability, responsibility, and hard work are regarded as problematic and in the way of progressive thinking: only ignorant people stick to these ideals. They must be bigots, racists, homophobic, and uneducated coots. Hating America, excusing terrorism, being a thug, being a pot head, assaulting teachers, killing cops, ridiculing religion mostly Christians, and distorting the truth in the name of activism; these are the elitists’ and progressive thinkers’ back pocket “bibles” for an engaged mind! Don’t take my word for it; listen to the news if one can call it that. Listen to the pundits explain and excuse bad behavior. Cannot judge anyone…no no no! We do not judge, punish, or hold accountable anymore because someone might get offended. Well how about the whole nation getting offended? Would that change anything? Would that bring some sanity to this insane world? Would we bring back courtesy, respect, pride, and success? Doesn’t the progressive mind wonder why cultures from the Far East excel in education while our kids come in a close 47th in science, math, and technology? Perhaps the fact that children in those cultures are raised to respect their parents, their elders, and their spiritual culture toward a successful life. What a concept? Being a thug versus being productive!

My mother is 98 years old and lives in a home where she spends her days watching, listening, and thinking. When I sometimes ask her for her thoughts she just shakes her head and says: the world has gone mad! I’m with you ma, the world has gone mad and progressively so. Her generation fought wars to win them, got married to live together for the rest of their lives, had kids to take care of them, and went to work to provide for their families. Such simplicity raised a generation of courageous heroic men who fought for their country without question, raised children who respected parents, teachers, policemen, firemen, and adults in the community. They formed communities who never closed their front doors, looked after each other’s kids, hugged each other’s kids, and helped each other in time of need. This traditional way of life was discarded as mundane by a generation of self-centered morons who have few social graces because they can tweet but cannot speak correctly, they can text but cannot spell, they can X-Box but cannot run a few yards outside in the sun, and use a calculator  in lieu of a brain because understanding addition and subtraction is a challenge; and everyone must have a trophy because we do not judge! That folks is called progress. That is called a world gone mad.  Please let me off at the next planet!

Another year gone and we are being inundated with “highlights” of the past year, mostly bad news. Why do we tend to dwell on what has been? Why do we think that a new year will somehow magically vaporize all the troubles and frustrations that we had a few days before? On New Year’s Eve I heard a broadcaster in Times Square squealing in delight that the reason almost a million folk venture out to occupy Times Square was because they feel optimistic and they can “wipe the slate clean.” What a load of rubbish. Standing in sub-freezing weather in tight proximity to a million other people for eight hours without a bathroom in the hope that when midnight strikes I might feel optimistic and my life “slate” will be “wiped clean:” is a good example of this generation’s penchant for drama and self-absorption when none is either necessary or desired. How many of us felt uplifted and ready to face the world on the 1st? A few probably started the year with a dirty slate amid puke and intoxication. How many really think that the world is going to be kinder, more courteous, and less inhumane when the clock strikes midnight? This “reality show” mentality is rooted in a generation that cannot cope with failure, bad news, or any type of discomfort. This is the “trophy” generation. Everyone wins. Everyone is beautiful!

I personally do not administer to illusions that a new month or year will make things better. I believe that we are responsible for our actions and fate takes on a life of its own when and if it wishes to. One can prepare diligently for disaster and mishaps, but when that water pipe breaks in the kitchen only the plumber can fix it. I am not invoking pessimism, but a realistic and common sense view of life’s expectations is healthy. However, for the past twenty years, the political correct zealots and loons have rendered a severe blow to self-determination, courage, and endurance. They have produced an impotent generation unable to cope with the slightest failure. This is the “I” and the “I need to love me first” generation. Everything in their lives has been elevated to an “event.” The miniscule and the mundane are now epic and when disaster strikes everyone falls apart. Stoic is no longer accepted because we have been told that we need to literally unburden our very souls to total strangers for validation of our failures. “It will make us feel good.” Failures are no longer regarded as possibly bad choices. Children are being told and have the illusion that they are perfect therefore failures must be someone else’s fault.

My father was not big on excuses and did not take our failures too kindly either. When report cards found their way discreetly under the front door (although heaven knows we tried to bribe the mail man to give them to us) and in his hands, he examined them like a surgeon looks at an x-ray; with intent and resolve. We were finally called in for the “coaching” session which generally went something like this: “If you do not raise your grades forget summer!” That was an incentive. I never heard him blame the teacher or the school. He blamed us for either not studying enough or paying attention in class. I know; his coaching skills were not very empathetic but they worked. Another thing I never heard my father say: “It is a new year, I’m sure things will be better for you at school.” A new year was just the beginning of another month toward growing older and hopefully getting smarter.
This generation is self-absorbed and in total denial. Not their fault. We made them that way. By “we”: I mean society. We coddled them, protected them, wrapped them in helmets, pads, and removed every iota of resiliency. Now a teenager commits suicide or kills others because the girl he has known for a week broke up with him. In our days we considered that an opportunity for other “fish in the sea.” We have opened up technological mediums that give acne-faced teens a stage to flaunt, bully, and debase themselves without accountability. It is easy to be nasty when you do not have to face your adversary. We removed any remorse for bad behavior because it must be someone else’s fault; the teacher, the police, the environment; anything but self accountability for being a thug. We act like dorks: let’s take a “selfie” and entertain the world with our stupidity. We have raised “moronic” to epic proportions and then bemoan the fact that this generation has problems with discipline, morality, and achievement.

I have just finished reading a book about Baby Boomers: those born mid 1940’s to late 1950’s and the grandparents of this generation. They were the courage behind the defeat of Nazism in Germany, and putting America and Europe back to work after the devastation. They were the ones who built a strong economic nation sans computers, cell phones, x-boxes, and social media. They did not “Google” they probably went to the library or bought a set of Encyclopedia and ‘heavens to Betsy’; they read. They did not have an ounce of self-absorption because they were too busy putting their lives back together again and raising families. How then did the off spring of these amazing people manage to divert from their parents’ values and raise a generation of self-absorption? The book identified weaknesses in Baby Boomers; mostly the attempt to provide too much for their children in an attempt to make up for their own lackluster childhoods. So is it possible that today’s generation is not all to blame? Is it possible that the sins of the forefathers materialized and morphed with technology to bring forth a generation of unrealistic expectations and diluted fortitude? Is it possible that Baby Boomers did not want to inflict on their children the same hardships they had endured? Consequently the grandchildren were raised spoiled and given everything without earning it. Is it then possible that the Baby Boomers might be to blame?

My mother just turned 98 and she remains feisty and with strong convictions. She rarely holds long conversations nowadays, not because she is unable to but because she does not want to. She brought up seven children but I do not recall either her or our father ever being lenient to make up for their hardships. That stoic nature of hers keeps her sharp and with little patience for stupidity. I have never heard my mother lament the fact that she had to move to Europe during a war, or that she had to raise seven children practically on her own, or that somehow society owed her family anything. My mother did what most Baby Boomers did: worked hard to raise children, take care of the household, and made sure that we were taught right from wrong. Did any of us suffer major psychological trauma that would haunt us for the rest of our days? Hardly. Did we learn to be self sufficient and successful? Definitely. Did we turn into self-absorbed morons? Possibly: I suddenly have a strong urge to take a “selfie” and post it on Facebook!