Turning A Blind Eye

We all do it for various reasons.  Let's take my husband for instance.  He had turned a blind eye to his health for as long as I've known him.  Did he think he was invincible?  I have no idea because he'd never discuss it, but he came within hours of dying just a couple of weeks ago. Knowing his mind set I can't guarantee that I won't have to go through that particular hell again.

In a sense that is what has happened to this country.  We've all turned a blind eye to our social ills. Invincibility has nothing to do with this however.  It has to do with it being the easier out.  Until it explodes and the resulting shrapnel cannot be pieced back together again.

What we're lacking in this country are the basics.  Different communities have different areas in which they are weakest but all have them and it's due to a lack of the right kind of leadership. Start with Native Americans.  Centuries ago we began changing them into a welfare state and so they remain.  If it weren't for their enterprising casinos it would be worst but if that enterprising spirit had been channelled toward education and mainstreaming into American society things would be a lot better for them.

Then there are the blacks.  If government didn't reward them for bad behavior perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.  Instead of Obama phones, and food stamps and welfare mothers if leaders had sat them down and told them they have to be responsible for their own fate perhaps they would put some effort to rising out of their despondency and bettering themselves sans handouts.

But leaders haven't done that. We've allowed them to nurture a victim mentality rather than showing them that is no excuse.  You break the law you go to jail.  You father a child you support it. You get an education without being passed through.  You compete and when you don't win you work to better yourself rather than cry victim.

None of this is rocket science.  But it does take conscious recognition by all of us and a cohesive effort to make the changes necessary.  Forget political correctness.  It's a relatively new concept and people who were never offended before are suddenly - victims.  Don't tell me it harms their self esteem.  First you have to have some.

The basics.  Meet a guy or gal.  Romance them.  Get married. Then have children.  Stay in the relationship.  Nurture the kids.  Be a part of their lives.  Educate them.  Stand by them.  And always be there for them with patience, understanding and love.  When they stray don't tolerate it.  Stealing is wrong.  Bullying is wrong. Challenging authority is wrong. We have it for a reason.  It's all basic and it all starts at home.

Oh, what nice words and thoughts but how do you accomplish all this when the country has gone so far astray?  Back to leadership. Don't tolerate those who disrupt for their own agendas.  Teach the kids to know the difference.  And from the top down be ethnically, sexuality and religiously blind when applying justice.  No one should be immune from punishment for bad behavior nor raised up as heroes when in truth they are thugs.

If this is going to end we have to get smart about how it's handled and political correctness isn't smart.  Looking in the mirror with honesty is.  It's a place to start. Do we have the guts to do it?