PART TWO---- NO LONGER ... HOLD MY TONGUE

PART TWO---NO LONGER ... HOLD MY TONGUE

The history of the United States extends over two hundred years. During that time America has experienced phenomenal growth; growth in land size, population, communication, medicine, military might, and most of all financial security. The one area that has seen the least amount of growth is social acceptance.  In that length of time, it should be expected there are some lessons that are evident, but still today Americans are deeply in involved in hating; hate Jews, hate people of color, hate gays, and hate Muslims. Even though America is a nation of immigrants, Americans have always found an excuse to hate others.

A conman comes along and provides 1/3 of the population a reason to hate and all hell breaks loose. Mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, and even some well-educated people, revert back to the days prior to the Civil War. All of a sudden, the hatred that has been stored deep in the trenches of their souls for decades reappears. Compassion is thrown out the window, and morality is something that is only practiced on Sundays. Americans have become a group of self-centered, hypocritical Christians who seemly know nothing about the examples set by Jesus Christ himself. Something has gone bad wrong with the American spirit!

Americans have been involved in hating from the time the first, white man first set foot on what today is the United States of America. It is hard to believe that anyone could be proud of what America is today. The results speak for themselves. The American dream is basically dead, and society is on the brink of an interior war.

The time is at hand, that the majority of Americans must stand up to pulpit haters, and denounce their form of religious doctrine. We must let them know that hating is no longer an acceptable characteristic in American society. Americans have lost faith in each other and a deeply divided society is near the breaking point. And it is for sure, the men of God are not helping the situation. Any society is in deep trouble when the men of God become the main promoters of hate. 

For centuries theologians have used the Bible to prove just about anything. American theologians have used the Bible to keep women as second class citizens. The so-called men of God used the Bible to justify human slavery. It is a terrible commentary to say that the more religious a nation, the more abundant is hate! 

It is important that the likes of Franklin Graham, a homophobic bigot, not get away with his hate filled rhetoric of cherry picking the Bible.  The Bible that Franklin Graham is quoting plainly states, those individuals such as, the orange-faced devil that he worships, should be stoned to death for adultery. The audacity of this so-called man of God to support adultery while demonizing the faithful love of another is egregious. Every American who believes in the truth should get on board and speak out against Graham, and not allow him to destroy the character of a good man like Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

I find it difficult to understand why people want to live in strife. There are so many excellent people of all skin colors, so many great people in all types of sexual orientations, and so many outstanding people from all nations of the world. Sometimes I think that it must be impossible for adults to learn any lessons. For over 240 years America has lost some of the best minds of teenagers who committed suicide because of sexual orientation, and still Christian leaders won’t let up in teaching this fallacy. This is absolutely a needless loss! I taught school for over 32 years, and I can name many. This is such a shame! People need to understand the simple fact that we are all a product of what we have been taught, and it is possible to rethink our teachings?

I cannot understand the world of social media where hate travels faster than love, and love becomes second hand to hate.  Children are not born to hate, and children are not born to be racists. Teenagers learn to discriminate. Obviously, parents have no idea what they are doing when their children see them involved in conflict. It is a shame that we have within our control the making of a great society, and we have within our power the capacity to live in peace, and yet we have failed. 

I wish I could find the magical words that would resonate with people with the causing effect of an understanding of how we cheat ourselves by hating others. Life becomes so pleasant when we learn to get along, and yet there is a resistance within humans, that makes that which is so easy, difficult.  

It is frightening for future generations as to what is happening in the world today. These are not just a series of words, but signs are flashing all over the world that we have lost the ability to govern ourselves.  Give humans just a little bit of power, and they becomes a vile characters. Self governments are being destroyed because humans cannot resist the temptation of corruption. 

Now to get off the beaten path for just a few sentences; People it is time to get on board the peace train, the one Cat Stephens sang about many years ago.  It is a little late to wait until you have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel to realize that you have done things all wrong. The one thing children need to see in parents is honesty, and the one thing children will never forget is when they see their parents stoop down to help the needy. You never know whose watching when you perform an act of kindness.  And we never know how an act of kindness will effect the life of another. The most famous words I ever heard spoken by a rich man are, “You cannot take it with you.”

There is a peace train coming and all you have to do is climb on board.