Values mean something

When I was a child I was raised in a home by parents who valued many things.  My dad told my brother and me, time and time again, that "Your word is your bond."  He always believed that if you promise anything, if you give someone your word, it was something you were bound by and you must follow through with whatever was promised.  Keeping your word was a principled, morally correct and ethical thing to do.  My dad lived by those words.

Doing goods things for other people was a very big part of my mom's life.  Every day I was able to observe my mom doing things that not only enriched people's lives but literally saved some lives.  She raised money for charities (the March of Dimes was her special charity), she secured housing, household goods, groceries & jobs for refugees from the Holocaust, she provided an ear for listening to others' tales of woe (and there were many.) And she did all this anonymously.

So, through the years I observed how my parents lived and the good that they were able to do.  My parents didn't have much but they cared about others who had even less. 

Now, the bombshell:  they were Republicans.

If they were alive today they would be horrified at what the Republican party has become:  the party of greed, deceit, fear, hunger for power and money; a party that can be bought, a party with no scruples, the party of exclusion, a party that wants complete control of everyone's lives even though they profess otherwise, a Christian party with all other religions or beliefs delegated to inferior status, a party filled with double-talking hypocrites, a party who hates liberals, homosexuals, immigrants, poor people, people with no jobs, those who have lost their homes, the elderly, the sick, the homeless.  They have no compassion.  They are without a soul.

Yes, my parents, the Republicans, would be horrified.  And if they were alive today, they would be proud Democrats.

DUMB DAH DUMB DUMB

In the past week it has been proven beyond a doubt that many parents of school-age children failed miserably: failed in school, failed as parents and are failing at life in general.

Failed in school: Obviously never paid attention in class, didn't finish homework either on time or ever, didn't respect teachers, used disruptive behavior in class, thought every subject was boring and never gave a thought as to how this all would affect their futures.

Fast forward to failed as parents: Many became parents because "sex is fun" and, oops, had a kid because they were not bright enough to take precautions. Nevertheless, parents they are. And school is where they send the kids: 1) to get them out of the house, 2) because they are mandated to educate them and 3) to let the teachers raise the kids for 7 hours a day. These are the same parents who don't attend PTA meetings but scream, when the kid gets an 'F' for not finishing homework and being disrespectful and disruptive in class. And these are the same parents who wanted to "protect" their kids from our President even though they knew the speech was about staying in school, doing your homework, value your education so you can amount to something and be of service to your country.

What moronic idiot wouldn't want those things instilled in a young person's mind? The President's speech was benign, intelligent and uplifting. But the nincompoops who didn't allow their kids to listen just added to the ever increasing"dumbness" of many in this country and we all know which side of the aisle they are on. These children will become the nincompoops of the future thus insuring that their parents will indeed, have failed at life.

Thank goodness, there are those parents who think that schooling is a good thing, who encourage their kids to do well in school, to think critically, to respect their teachers and to value education....for these are the kids who will find the cures, clean the air, save the earth and be the peacekeepers. I'm hoping their numbers grow.