Please Lord, help us to find you once again, and heal this Great Nation. People, we need to wake the fuck up. The violence is out of control. I always tell my kids, “I wish you could have grown up during the time when I grew up.” Problems between people were solved with words, sometimes fists; not with guns, bullying, and potential “death” through the use of social networking. In today’s society, people tend to seek “instant gratification” to solve their problems, a pattern that often ends with deadly force.
This column is going to touch on a lot of things I have written about this year for the Phoenix. I wrote about many controversial topics and also had many comments about my viewpoint, negative and positive. Every time you turn on the television and watch the news all you hear about is people getting murdered. The article I wrote, “You Can’t Stop the Violence,” was all about how human beings will always be in the midst of violence. There were thousands of athletes running in the Boston Marathon and thousands of bystanders watching when the bombs went off. This is my question — how can ever we stop this violence?
These changes should start with us. We need to teach the younger generation good morals and values, and that starts at home. In one of my articles, I mentioned that I coach my kid’s in various sports. I do this for several reasons. I wanted to give the kids a place to learn about team building and to stay away from all the negative elements that exist in our communities. I also wanted to help them understand that our words and our actions are what make us individuals. During my coaching career, I’ve had to break up numerous fights between parents. It is unfortunate that kids have to witness these events and try to make sense of it all.
I also wrote an article about the American flag and how I had found one in a trash can in one of the buildings on campus. Many readers had strong opinions about this article. I have very strong feelings about this as well. I was proud to serve in the U.S. Army for ten years and lost many friends during that time. The American soldier does not fight because he hates who is in front of him; he fights because he loves who is behind him. To see the symbol of our nation being disrespected really struck a nerve in me.
It truly pisses me off that it takes a tragedy like the Boston Marathon or 9/11 for people to become patriotic. One person with a commitment is worth more than 100 people who have only an interest. I would like to end this article with a quote from the late President Ronald Reagan, “If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth.”
