I Was Going To Ask 'What Are We Coming To'...

...but it appears I should Ask 'What Have We Become'! I took my usual look at the news on FoxNews.com this morning, and I was pretty appalled by what I read there. It wasn't just one story that made me cringe and wonder what we have become, but story after story after story told of how twisted humankind has become especially with regard to how people treat one another.

Here are some snippets from the articles that pretty much just made me wince with disgust:

U.N.: Burma Cyclone Victims Not Getting Enough International Aid - "Rainwater was the only source of clean drinking water for some of Burma's cyclone victims Tuesday as the U.N. said only a tiny portion of international aid was reaching the region. The country's military regime, which has renamed the country Myanmar, has been accused of hoarding high-quality foreign aid for itself while people make do with rotten food." ( source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355250,00.html).

How wonderful, an already repressive regime now taking the aid meant for its cyclone smashed people and using it to fatten themselves while their countrymen suffer. This is apparently a common enough occurrence throughout the world that maybe it does not shock - but as far as I go I am still disgusted by it.

Then we have this gem: Michigan Teen Gets Life Sentence for 'Thrill Kill' Beheading - "A teenager convicted of killing a man, then beheading him and setting fire to his body in what prosecutors called a thrill killing was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole." (source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355176,00.html). Again probably what is a fairly common type of crime. The point is that it has become common, and we have allowed it to become so.

Here is yet another: Cleveland Man Pummeled to Death by 15, Urinated On and Stripped in the Street - "Even by tough, urban crime standards it was a grisly attack: Up to 15 people chased a man, then kicked and beat him to death on the street. Before police arrived, one attacker urinated on the victim's head." (source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355235,00.html)

This one reportedly a gang crime, and also a common thing in our world.

Probably the most disgusting of the stories, if true,that I read today, was this one: Man and Woman Indicted for Training Woman's Child to Be Dominatrix, Selling Her for Other Sex Acts - "Federal prosecutors on Monday unsealed an indictment against a man and woman accused of training the woman's child to be a dominatrix, selling her services and photographing some of the acts. (source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355257,00.html)

U.S. Attorney John Wood said the case is the first in which a parent of the victim has been charged with the commercial sex trafficking of his or her own minor child."

Do you think for a moment this is the first time a parent has done this? Despite what U.S. Attorney John Wood says about it being the first time someone has been so charged, it surely is not the first report we have read in which a parent has been reported to have been training their child to perform sex acts on other adults. It is not an all that uncommon thing in the Bizarro World in which we live nowadays.

It is not just the criminal, or the obvious psycho, who are committing acts that should not be allowed; but it is the everyday person who has allowed themselves to slip into a murky place within which their good judgement and any sense of decency is replaced with a desire or need to act out as powerful through some repugnant manner toward other people. For example, here possibly is one such case (I say possibly because it is alleged): Report: Man Says He Was Forced to Sit in JetBlue Flight Bathroom for 3 Hours - "...a flight attendant volunteered to sit in a “jump seat” so Mutlu could make it onto the flight headed from San Diego to New York, according to the New York Post.

About 90 minutes into the flight, however, Mutlu says he got a rude awakening when the pilot informed him that the flight attendant was uncomfortable in the jump seat and would be taking the regular seat back, the paper reported." (source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355237,00.html)

So guess where they allegedly made the passenger sit - on the toilet. If that is true, you just have to ask yourself what in Hades is going on here! What are we becoming. It is not the deranged mind of the thrill killer, not the perverse machinations of the mother who would train and then sell her daughter for weird sex, not the will of a dictatorship, not a gang mentality at its worst, but rather the mindset of people who are there to serve us the paying customer - in this case airline employees. If this story is true as told, then can you imagine the screwed up thought process that led these pompous pieces of shit people to do what they did to this poor man by making him travel in what amounts to turdthird class aboard an airline that does not have third class seating. It is an outrage, and is the type of outrage that is often overlooked by the rest of us because it has not happened to us.

That is the real pity of all of these events, not that we overlook the really bad ones, the heinous criminal ones, because we have not yet been a victim; but rather that we tend to overlook the lessor one that took place on the plane. It is because we allow ourselves to overlook degrading acts like this when perpetrated on others, that we also become too callous to things that are worse. We do not see these lessor evils that are rampant in society as a sure gin that the gateway for much worse evils has been opened, and those evils will prey upon us if they but only have the chance.

So how do we deal with it all. Well first of all we need to get ourselves in order. We need to complain about every case of abuse that a person like the airline passenger goes through of which we are aware. Why, well because doing so will accomplish a few things. First of all it will make the public service companies out there realize that we the public want to be served not abused. It will make them realize that when they abuse one of us, they stand to hear complaints from hundreds if not thousands of us; and when they realize that they will be so scared of losing business that they will change their tunes -you can bet on it. But the effort has to be there on the part of Joe Everyman, otherwise we are doomed to more of the abuse. Once we get that started in the right direction, we also need to remain courteous to one another. Yes I mean you to me, me to you, even if we are total strangers. This is the way it used to be to a great extent, and things were much better then. Besides just courtesy we also need to be responsible for one another. No not like in a socialist or communist community, but rather in a community made up of good citizens who give a damn what happens to other good citizens. There are several ways to do that. When we see someone being harassed or mugged, or harmed - we need to shout out "hey stop that" right after we have called 911 to report it to the police. We need to consider fighting to save the little old lady who is getting mugged, the young woman being raped, the bum being beaten by a band of young thugs. Why, well because it could be us on the bad end. Wouldn't you like someone to help. I would.

In that regard we need to arm ourselves legally. With what, well with firearms if legal, or pepper spray if legal, or an expanding baton if legal, or with a TASER if legal, or with a stun gun if legal, or with whatever we can to help defend ourselves and our neighbors. If you ever see something like one of these crimes taking place, urge others to help - don't try to be alone hero and get yourself killed because you were foolish; but don't depend on the police getting there in time either. Most times it takes them minutes, and the evil deed is done well before they get there.

What else can you do? Write to politicians and law makers. Get your state and locality to allow concealed weapons carry. Push for your state enact castle doctrine. Join a neighborhood watch. Push for legislation to clean up the streets of lowlife bums who commit low level crimes. Then the police will only have to worry about the real bad guys once those others are off the streets. Push for immigration reform to punish illegal aliens and remove them from the USA. Push for a border fence for the length of the border. Voe for politicians who are for legal immigration without giving amnesty to make illegals legal. You get the idea by now I am sure - it is me, and you, and your spouse, and your neighbor, and your bartender, and your barber, and your tailor, and the grocery store manager, and the deli clerk, and the car salesman, and the mayor, and the teachers at your kid's school, and the scout leaders, and your minister, preacher, priest, rabbi or imam, and your dog catcher, and your garbage man, and your police officers, and flight attendants, and on and on and on who all have to do this on an individual level. Once we all start doing it - writing to politicians, calling them, calling 911, helping people in need, fighting for our rights - guess what - we will have started the uphill climb to victory in taking back America for moral, law abiding, good hearted people who give a darn about one another. Wouldn't your neighborhood, and mine, and the next guy's all be nicer places in which to work, and live, and even just pass through - you bet they would be.

All the best,
GlennB

A Brand New Craftsman Lawn Mower,...

...that I picked up at Sears last night, meant a newly mown (or is it mowed?) lawn today. An old edge trimmer that did not work when I plugged it in, and then got a quick repair (took apart the handle and reconnected a loose wire, even I never knew I was so handy) meant that the front and back postage stamp sized lawns are now trim albeit still pretty poor excuses for lawns. Then a quick blow round the house with the leaf blower, followed by a quick sweep up of a pile of debris here and there, and the old homestead looks presentable. Now for some refinishing of the front door, a job started about a week or so ago but had to discontinue because of the weather, and it will really look a lot better round here. After that maybe some filling in of holes in the garden, our newest dog Mimi is a digger, then maybe a few dabs of hot sauce here and there where she usually digs and I am hopeful that problem will be gone. Once I'm all done with my chores, I'll be enjoying the best shower I have taken in awhile. I cannot wait to feel the cascading streams of hot water running over head, then flowing over my body till it trickles down between my toes as I take the first hot shower in our house since the new water heater was installed earlier today. Yes the new A.O. Smith hot water heater, a jumbo one at that holding 50 gallons (our last only held 30 gallons) is in place and all fired up. Utopia right here at home (even though I'll be broke for the next month or three paying for it all), but still Utopia - can you imagine that!

I had better get going if I really want to be first into the shower; I've lots of work to do before then, and Brendan gets home from school and lacrosse practice within a few hours, so time is of the essence. Later for you.

All the best,
Glenn B