This is a warning!
You who are parents know how children try and keep on trying to “get around” the rules you set for them. You as their parent want what’s best for them, so you set those rules to guide and protect them. The children frequently see those rules as challenges to their sovereign identity. They do their best to ignore the rules.
In 1943 when I was born, we didn’t have television. We had radio, newspapers, and weekly or monthly magazines to tell us what was happening in the world around us. Communicating with each other was direct, mouth-to-ear.
Then came TV, and we children were introduced to a new “reality”, messages from people who wanted to sell us something, whether it was a product or an idea. In the early days those messages were fairly lame. They didn’t vary much from the ideas we shared in our local towns where life went on in a regular way those years just after WWII. Life was good. We were afraid of atomic war back then, when our teachers drilled us to hide under our school desks, as if that would help in any way. Otherwise we were somewhat civilized, agreeing about most things – who should win the World Series and stuff like that.
Then some fool dragged us into a war overseas that dragged on and on in Korea, something about a demilitarized zone and holding the line against communism.
Soon after that the fools dragged us into another war in Vietnam as rock-and-roll, getting high, and free love transformed our small town morality into a rebellion against rules that continues today and threatens our future and the future of our children.
The next transition kicking the can of society down the road (and I do mean “down” the road) was the grasp for money and prestige and a nicer home and car and more money, more money, more money.
The values of society that governed most of us when I was born have been displaced, and the consequence is not yet fully measured as we enter into the age of artificial intelligence, instant gratification of our desires, and the ability of fools to communicate ideas around the world as easily as we long ago picked up the receiver of a phone, heard “Operator”, and spoke a number to connect us to another human being. My home phone number was “749”. My grandfather’s general store was “44”.
We didn’t have the marvels of your modern medicine. Many of my childhood friends died of polio or were locked inside iron lungs. One of my friend’s mothers died of tetanus. There were no heart or kidney transplants. But we shared love, and most of the time we enjoyed peaceful relationships and were pretty confident that the people who got us through the war would lead us to even better days ahead.
Well, friends – these are the better days when you argue about everything you can think of; take sides on any issue that gives you an opportunity to put others down; and increasingly choose to believe, as children do, that rules are made to be broken.
If you don’t behave yourselves, there’s a reckoning coming soon.
If you don’t take responsibility to STAND for what’s good and honorable and peaceful, the rich and powerful will enslave you.
Those of you who’ve read this far may choose to be among the few who will STAND, and the place to STAND AND BE HEARD is at your local courthouse where you can FORCE people (including the judge and opposing lawyers) to obey the LAW and make your world safe for the next generation!
Or you can ignore voices like this and see how far it gets you!
Jurisdictionary®
Thank you. I believe you are right. And thank you for your common past sacrifices. Growing up in my family we barely had enough to eat. We accepted then that we were poor and only hard work would keep us going. Now there’s a lot more necessary to keep working and eating. I want your help as well, I just can not afford it currently, but I’ll keep working hard to get it. And when I do have it you will be the first place I come to. Until then please keep working, and I’ll continue to keep sharing!!