Right or wrong? Who makes the rules?

The name of a movie once declared that "The world has gone mad!" Various reasons behind that statement are what made up the plot. Mostly it focused on how individual perspective determined opinions of right or wrong. Some perspective was based upon fact, some perspective was based upon limited observation. Everyone acted on what they deemed as truth with outcomes sometimes humorous, sometimes nothing short of disaster. The movie highlighted how ignorance can rule people and even entire societies.

Fact: Reality/truth exists regardless of what you say or believe.

Listening to news of changes in long held rules regarding morality and law lately reminds me very much of that movie. Hollywood once again predicted the future. Reality/truth no longer prevails. Life changing decisions are now based upon perspective. And, this is the really silly part, it is the perspective of a self-indulged few that rules the majority of those who view reality as, at the very least common sense. The weapon of choice to empower ignorance is guilt. It works, big time!

When I was a kid, the neighbor kids never got treats from their folks. The family had way more money than my family but for whatever reason the parents did not spend money on treats of any kind. No popsicles from the popsicle guy, no ice cream or cake on birthdays, no candy bars from the corner store bought with allowance money on Saturday afternoons like the rest of the kids in the neighborhood. However, whenever any of us other kids had treats the kids from that family would be right at our sides with the phrase: "Jesus says we must share!" To load us up with guilt if we didn't give them some of our treats. As kids we wanted to do what Jesus did so we shared. We couldn't hold up to the guilt. That is until us other kids realized that those kids weren't Jesus, they never shared anything with us. They just wanted some of our stuff and used the Jesus guilt trip because it worked.

Now I'm all growed up and I find that some of those kids are still around loading me an millions of other people up with guilt so we will give them what they want. There are no limits as to what they want either:

 "I broke the law but you only want me to be held accountable because you don't like me or anyone like me."
"I can do this, even though it disgusts you because I was born that way. Accept it or you are old fashioned."
"I am special and don't have to work. You have to do with less of your hard earned money and support me or you are selfish."
"I decoded, all by myself what God really says and wants. You are out of touch with the modern concept of God."

Guilt is a huge weapon against good minded people. Nobody wants to feel guilty do they? Maybe it's this unfounded guilt that has made the whole world go mad. Are you guilty of allowing guilt to overcome your better judgement? Perspective, ours or theirs?

You can't be anything you want

I had to laugh at a comment I heard during a public service announcement yesterday: "In America you can be anything you want to be if you want it bad enough!" They were talking about the arts, music, being a politician and even sports. Anything is within your grasp! Yeah, right! The world, let alone this country is filled to overflowing with people that had high aspirations, worked their butt off and wound up disappointed and broke. I think the thought behind the comment is admirable. No doubt a lot of well meaning folks want to inspire our younger generation and prod them into action regarding their future. I admire that part. The truth of the matter is that we can't all be what we want to be, even through hard work and dedication. More accurately, in my humble opinion we all have the opportunity to be the best that we can be in whatever situation we find ourselves in. I once tried to be an insurance salesman. My intentions were admirable, I wanted everyone to provide for their families in the event of premature death. I worked night and day, studied constantly, talked to 5 or 10 prospects a day and wrote hundreds of policies. I went broke! I really, really wanted to be the best insurance salesman in the world. I simply didn't have the talent for it. A guy I worked with at the same agency worked the same hours I did, studied as much as I did, talked to as many prospects as I did, wrote a few less policies than I did and to this day he is one of the most successful and financially well off insurance salesmen in this part of the country. It takes more than desire, dedication and hard work. I firmly believe each of us has a certain set of unique qualities and in order to succeed we have to match those qualities with what we set out to do.

In the mentoring process I was involved in for over 25 years one of the hurdles so many young men had to overcome was false hope based on blindness to their own abilities and limitations. Being young and ambitious is a wonderful thing. Being full of ambition and using it to attain the impossible is quite another. One of my favorite, all time great athletes is Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers. When he was on the triple A team, West Michigan White Caps he played as a catcher and did rather well. Enough to get noticed and signed by the Tigers. Then they changed his position to third base. I don't know how Brandon felt about changing positions but soon he became Hall of Fame quality as one of the best third basemen I have ever seen. Not just rather well but extraordinary. He's still played catcher from time to time but he is Mr. Baseball at third base. In a way, his position at third base became what he wanted to be in the first place.

I would like to encourage everyone to excel in something. But that something may not be what they dreamt of. Some of us can live out their dream but all of us can live happily by accepting ourselves and being the best we can be at whatever it is we are doing at the time. I'd like you to think about this: Look at the people living in the public eye. Actors, musicians, politicians and sports figures. If you listen to them they are living a dream. Money, prestige, praise and admiration. They have it all, just like the public service announcement I mentioned earlier. If all that was so great, why are so many of them unhappy, take drugs, cheat on their spouses, spend all their money, go broke and constantly do other stupid stuff. Personally, I think I'd rather utilize my unique qualities to the best of my ability, be happy and maintain a sense of integrity.

Right or wrong accusations

Once again a political figure is being accused (anonymously of course)of an event that happened a long time ago but not reported at the time for some odd reason. I'm not saying it did or did not happen, I'm just wondering why it wasn't reported at the time instead of the women involved accepting money to keep quiet.

Terrible things happen every day and go unreported. Sometimes, it's because it really wasn't as bad as we might think, sometimes it's out of fear, sometimes it's out of a feeling of personal guilt, who really knows except the people involved. On the other hand, in my opinion when it comes to politics we all have reason to question the motives as well as the honesty of the accusers.

Herman Cain is being accused of some sort of sexual harassment that occurred about 15 years ago. Why now? Who is behind this sudden desire to make the record straight? Why was it not such a big deal for 15 years? I wonder just what I'm missing? Kind of like the accusations concerning an appointee for the Supreme Court a while back.

Besides, we had a sitting President that was guilty of sexual discrepencies just a few years ago and aside from a huge amount of lip service nothing ever came of it. Perhaps it was a difference of opinion concerning the definition of sexual harassment. I'm not an expert on the subject I guess.

This whole thing will be aired out in the press I imagine, just like always. We will find out whatever details those in charge want us to know. It will be a matter of perspective as usual. I have determined that this is all just a game pitting one political ideology against another. It really doesn't have anything to do about honesty, only political gain. Right and wrong, true or false are entirely different matters in cases like this.

Reincarnation, aliens and fantasy

There is a movie named, "The search for Bridie Murphy" It's all about reincarnation and based upon a true story. Of course, "based upon" coupled with literary license can become so far removed from the original story that it is almost unrecognizable. From what I understand the case of Bridie Murphy remains one of the strongest arguments for some or all of us having lived before. The comedy team Laurel and Hardy starred in an hilarious movie about airplanes, crashes, death and being reincarnated as a horse. I don't know whether it was "based upon" a true story or not. But, it made me laugh out loud and the movie, "The search for Bridie Murphy" didn't. It is my understanding that some religious beliefs are very strong concerning reincarnation, some regarding becoming another person and some regarding coming back as an animal. I have no real education in those beliefs or the history behind them. There are a lot of interesting beliefs in this world I am not familiar with and more are appearing as time goes on. It's impossible to keep up. Reincarnation is not new though and I found the movie about it quite riveting.

A psychologist or psychiatrist hypnotizes a woman as part of her treatment for psychological problems. While under hypnosis the woman slowly unravels the story of who she was in a former life. The doctor does some checking and finds out it was a real person and the woman he is treating has no way of knowing anything about her. Spooky! I wondered how she knew. I wondered if it was all a hoax like the Cardiff Giant, gargoyles or tax relief. But still, she was so convincing and looked so innocent, someone that looked like that could not possibly lie about such a thing. And, it was all based upon a true story. When I left the theatre I knew I had a lot of thinking to do. Up to that time I didn't believe reincarnation was something to be taken seriously. The next weekend I saw a movie called, "The Thing" It was all about an alien frozen in the arctic somewhere and when some well meaning scientists thawed it out they got way more than they bargained for. This alien creature, instead of wanting to make friends with earthlings, simply wanted to kill them and eat them and their dogs in a vicious manner. I can remember leaving the theatre wondering if this movie too was loosely "based upon" a true story. At school the following week I discovered that I wasn't the only pre-teen guy that wondered if it was true. It made for some lively discussion but eventually we decided, one of us at a time that "The Thing" was fantasy. But the spectre of alien life (especially on cold snowy, frozen, windy nights) always remained. The same regarding reincarnation.

Reincarnation and Alien life forms are not the same subject at all are they? I do wonder if the answer lies in hypnotizing an alien? Yeah, I do wonder that sometimes. Fantasy movies and stories based upon a true story do that to a person.

Kids, aliens, werewolfs, vampires and cowboys

Listening to young kids and their logic can be an enlightening experience. As adults most of us have forgotten our youthful perceptions of reality. TV shows and fantasy films had a profound affect on our impressionable minds. Why, far into my adulthood I still entertained thoughts of riding the open range rounding up steers or capturing rustlers. Although perhaps the particulars of childhood ideas may have changed, the line between reality and fantasy is still as blurred as ever.

While discussing the upcoming Halloween activities with a couple neighborhood boys I found out a thing or two that I hadn't realized: Ghosts don't exist. It is ridiculous to even think that something can be made out of thin air. That only happens on TV. Zombies and aliens are real though. Zombies can pop up out of the ground or the side of a building. Aliens can hide inside someone Else's body or a dog or other animal. Aliens hide their spaceships in houses a lot and pretend to be regular people so they can spy. Werewolfs aren't really people. Werewolfs are actually dogs disguised as people in order to get people so they can eat them. Another thing, werewolfs sometimes just bite and chew people for fun. Centaurs live by the mountains only because anywhere else people want to fight with them too much and they don't really like to fight that much. They like to run more because of their horse feet. Vampires are scariest of all. Vampires fly at night looking for people to suck blood from. If a vampire sucks blood from your neck you turn into a vampire too. But, and listen carefully, if a vampire bites you anywhere else you can get away and not be a vampire. So make sure you put up your arm for them to bite and when it bites you hit it hard and run away. You'll be OK then and not a vampire too.

I was left with one more bit of juvenile wisdom: Cowboys can kill vampires, werewolfs and aliens with their 50/50 guns and sometimes they train centaurs to ride them. Cowboys can do almost anything and they protect us just like the Army. I guess some things only change a little.

Advertising

There is a government backed home financing plan designed for low income people with bad credit. "Income to low? Credit too bad? Come to us, we have a loan for you." The ad says. I have an acquaintance that qualifies under those exact conditions and has had a steady job for over 13 years. He followed the instructions and excitedly applied for a loan. "Sorry, your income is too low and your credit score is bad." He was told. What did I miss here.

"50 inch Plasma TV for only $300 while supply lasts. One day only! Full financing, 0% interest, no payments for 3 years. No rain checks! (Other conditions may apply, qualified people only.)" I went to the store at opening time in the morning, the stock hadn't arrived yet. I returned at noon, the stock hadn't arrived yet. I returned at 5 minutes to 5 just before they closed. The shipment had still not arrived. I waited until 5 and asked again. "Sorry, they were sold out!" They said. The manager said the sale was chain wide and the other stores had sold the entire shipment before it arrived there, which was the last store on the route. I guess I missed something there too.

"Brand new, 2010 model X-car. $12,000 to new buyers only. 6 year financing plan at only 0.4% interest to qualified buyers. 0 down and $122 per month." Something was printed at the bottom of the ad but it was so small I couldn't read it. I wanted a new car, any kind of car, I could afford $122 a month. I could care less if it didn't have a radio or air conditioning. Once again I struck out. At 9am when they opened the doors they were already sold out of the new ones and all that was left was factory official cars with 20,000 miles on them. Although they hadn't been titled and were still considered new and part of the sale. The official cars also had a long list of extra accessories too: Air conditioning, sun roof, 1000 amp radio, dvd, cd, phone, gps and sattelite communication device, heated seats and mirrors, special order alloy wheels, winter trak all wheel drive, a super high output 6 cylinder engine with a supercharger, super soft leather seats, rustproofing, paint protection, fabric protector, leather protector and windshield rain coating. The final price? $23,453. I didn't ask about the payments after they asked about proof of the birth of my first born son. I guess the fine print must have described all of that.

I do like the advertising though. It got me out of the house..........................Joe

President Obama and the mosque

President Obama speaks out concerning building a Mosque at or near ground zero.

Insensitivity seems to be rampant on the political scene lately. In the hopes of setting themselves up as leaders of the free world, politicians make, what they think to be monumental statements regarding the freedoms set forth in our constitution. Sometimes they appear to get it right, sometimes not. Sometimes it's not a matter of right or wrong, it just depends upon which side of the opinion you are on. It's rather befuddling to say the least. Politics, I thought were a process of negotiation to achieve some type of acceptable middle middle ground on subjects of importance to the local or national concerns. Suddenly it's a method for dictating moral judgement. I'll pass if you don't mind.

With all due respect to the office of President of the United States, I will not allow Mr. Obama to be my moral compass. I do not feel that it is our moral, ethical or legal responsibility to allow a Mosque to be built on or near ground Zero where a terrorist act was committed against thousands of innocents by a radical group of murderous Muslims. I fail to see the importance of building the Mosque there. I do see it as a sign of disdain toward our rights when it comes to freedom. A slap in the face. A sign of degradation. History has shown that those wishing to destroy a free country simply need to use their precious freedoms against them and they will destroy themselves.

"Muslims are a religious group of freedom loving and peaceful people. The terrorist acts are performed by a small radical faction. This Mosque at ground zero will be a sign of peace."

"Nazi's are a peace loving, religious group of people. The murderous acts of the war were committed by only a small radical segment of that group. They should be able to build a Nazi meeting hall next the the Holocaust museum as a sign of respect."

"The K.K.K. is a group of God fearing, loving, peaceful people. Just a misguided few of them liked to hang certain people they didn't like. They should be able to build a K.K.K. memorial in downtown Harlem."

We should take a lesson from the Sunnies and the Shiite Muslim groups. Just build next to each other and everyone will "all get along together." At least after all the suicide terrorists blow themselves up along with the rest of the population. Are they wanting to build a mosque to promote peace? Or, is it a sign of conquest? To the victor go the spoils and the right to record history.

No Thank you Mr. President! I don't think you thought this one out. I disagree! I still have that right, at least for now.......Joe

The old, mean guy

I happened across a guy from my old neighborhood the other day. As I looked over a shelf of sale items, deeply engrossed in the art of saving money, a hand touched my shoulder and a deep, mature voice said, "Hello Joey." Even without looking recognition was triggered by his distinctive rich, baritone, almost musical speech. The other was that only a chosen few in my life have been allowed to call me Joey. I turned and looked and sure enough, it was the mean old guy from down the street as I was growing up. He must be in his nineties by now because he was old back then. He was also considered by most neighborhood kids to be as mean as a junk yard dog. For some reason he and I got along OK while other kids thought some day he would kill me and feed me to his chickens.

His ramshackle house was located on the back edge of a gravel road alongside the railroad tracks. His wife planted flowers in the front yard around a stand up bath tub half buried in the ground with a religious statue sitting inside. The rest of the yard, except for a walkway and a fenced area with a chicken coop, was filled with vegetables, two apple trees, a plum tree and a small patch of blackberry bushes, with piles of smelly manure surrounding the roots. The mean old guy worked two full time jobs but still kept the garden growing and spent several hours a week working on repairing and improving some part of the house. He didn't speak to hardly anyone. They had three children, two sons and a daughter. The children were usually inside the house or gone, I can't remember a time when they played outside with the rest of us neighborhood kids. The rumor was that they were being kept prisoners and the mean old guy beat them and his wife every day. They didn't have a TV antenna anywhere on the house. The whole family was weird, they said. I thought they were OK. I met him and his family and talked with them once in a while because I peddled papers to them and also sold the mean old guy his garden seeds from my catalog. I helped him pick them out because he couldn't read. To be continued.

It's supposed to rain pretty good today. Should help my garden grow what I've already planted and help prepare for more planting too..........................Joe