Oh boy, "Reflections by Ginsue"
So, I was really in a mood this evening and just posted this to my Facebook page but I thought I'd let you folks share in the rantings of an old man.
CAUTION: Rant Ahead - If you don't want to risk being put into a gloomy mood, don't read this.
As I type this msg I'm in a melancholy mood. A few minutes ago I was sitting outside looking up at the white clouds filled with the light of the sun now hidden behind the range of the Rocky Mtns. As I was enjoying the glorious sight of Pikes Peak and those clouds I reflected back on the times in my youth where I did the same thing. Then I asked myself if, as a child, is THIS what I thought things would be like when I grew up and I knew immediately the answer was a resounding NO.
As a child I remember going with my family to the lake or wherever and sitting around a campfire with a lot of folks I didn't know and singing old folk songs and having a feeling that you could trust others. I was filled with a sense of hope and a belief that people were ultimately good and that, if I worked hard enough, I had a chance to make an amazing mark on this world. Listening to those songs, images formed in my mind of the lessons I had in History classes, and, inversely, when I was older, the lessons in History were accompanied in my mind with the tunes of those old folk songs like "This Land Is Your Land".
As I've grown older I've become considerably more cynical. I now believe that mankind is inherently evil and lusting for power. I now understand that if I work hard enough, someone will come along and take what I have earned to give it to someone who has put forth no effort for themselves. I'm sickened from getting told "You can give to any charities that you desire, but we're still going to take from you to give to someone who needs it more than you do". Instead of getting to decide who to help with my hard earned income, I have to let someone else decide for me.
I'm also sickened when I see that those who have chosen to be nothing more than leeches to our world are held in higher esteem than someone such as myself who honestly puts forth an effort to make something of themselves that provides some value to society.
I believe that we've allowed a minority to recast our beliefs into something less clear and concrete in the name of "political correctness". Should we try to resist, we are labeled "intolerant", "racist", "elitist", "homophobic", or worse.
We've handed over our freedom to those who've promised us "security". We've granted power to those whose desire isn't to improve things for the sake of all but to weild their power over us and subjugate us into peasants. We've become a society looking to have others take care of us instead of accepting the responsibility of caring for ourselves. Those wearing the overcoats of friendly, helpful politicians later reveal themselves to be nothing more than wolves in sheeps clothing - doing their damnedest to be our lords and masters.
Somehow, what was once considered good and right has been perverted into being considered vile and wrong. The fruit of freedom hangs on the tree of liberty as a rotting corpse of what it once was and we're expected to pick of that fruit and consume it all the while exclaiming how juicy and wonderful it is.
We've been indoctorinated to accept mediocrity; from ourselves and from others. We don't have to be the best that we can be, we just have to be "good enough". I consider this whenever I eat a tomato I purchased from a grocery store. Where they were once only available in volume during short seasons, they were at least vibrant in color and bursting with sweet juicy goodness. Now, we get them in quantity all year log but they look waxy and taste much like cardboard. Mediocrity, but at least there is plenty of it. For so long I accepted mediocrity too. I remember as a kid my dad would buy a tub of hot cocoa mix in the winters. It might be a month before he got more so what we had, we had. I wanted the cocoa to last longer so instead of using 4 heaping spoonfuls of mix per cup I would only use 2 rounded spoonfuls. It was okay, but it wasn't great.I harbored resentment against my brother for so long because instead of stretching out the cocoa mix, he dug in and used 4 heaping spoonfuls for every cup of cocoa he drank. a mediocre cup of cocoa wasn't good enough for him. He would rather have had fewer cups that he could really enjoy than settle for something less. Boy did he enjoy that cocoa. It took me years to understand why he did what he did and is a lesson I'll always remember.
We have an election coming in a few months where we are given the choice between a new bad candidate or the existing worse candidate to take the reins as our leader and it isn't looking any better for our other elected representatives either.
If you feel like me and are tired of settling for mediocrity then stand up and shout and make the ears of those chosen to represent us ring with the cry "This land is OUR land and WE are the PEOPLE!" We can restore this nation to the glory it once knew if we insist on only the best and not accept what is getting spoonfed to us.
This isn't a pity party where I'm crying for myself, my fear is for the future our children can expect.
You've got a choice and not just in the elections, but in life as a whole. You can settle for more mediocrity and allow someone else to shape your destiny, or grab the reins and make your own.
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