Today, fill your cup of life with sunshine and laughter.
~Dodinsky


21 October 2009

What is happening to our world?

Read this, had to share it. Strikes a few nerves, doncha think? How many of us have thought many of the same things? How many of us are guilty of some of these things? Can you be honest with yourself? This is the measure. It's NOT always "the other guy". If it was, these things wouldn't need to be said.

"It's a Damn Shame" by Larry Winget

I have been remiss in writing a good rant for a few weeks especially when so much has happened for me to rant about! I guess it is because that I have just been so overwhelmed with the disrespect, lack of civility and stupidity that is running rampant that I couldn’t focus on just one or two issues. And I still can’t! So I‘ve decided that you folks might be willing to put up with a series of short rants on all of the things that I am finding especially irritating in the news and in life these days. I hope you enjoy, if you want to share any of these, feel free but give credit and send folks over to the blog and to my fanpage on facebook. This little rant is obviously called, “It’s a damn shame……………….

”It’s a damn shame when someone writes on my Facebook page defending irresponsible behavior with the words “Personal responsibility is such a cliché. It’s a condescending over-used phrase that has become the stock answer to everything.” Yes! It is the answer to everything! And it’s a damn shame that people would rather do anything in this world than take responsibility for their actions, including dismissing the notion as cliché and condescending.

It’s a damn shame when all of us can’t be happy when one of us has something good happen. Obama gets the Nobel Peace Prize and it suddenly becomes a battle cry of the right wing about how he doesn’t deserve it. If your name isn’t Nobel or you aren’t on the committee then you don’t really have a say in his deservingness. Don’t say he didn’t earn it – it’s not up to you to decide that. The Nobel Peace Prize committee decided he was deserving so you don’t really get a say in who wins the award since you don’t sit on the committee. This is not about politics or whether you like Obama’s stance on … well, anything! It’s about the President of the United States gets recognized on the world stage for something good and our divisive political system can’t say “congratulations” and then move on to better things. Which means it’s a damn shame when important things like healthcare, the recession, Medicare, Social Security and other major issues are taking a backseat to this inane non-issue.

It’s a damn shame when instead of respectfully disagreeing with someone, that you must resort to name calling because you aren’t smart enough to justify your argument with facts, thoughts or civility.

It’s a damn shame that the guy who screams the loudest is considered the winner of an argument instead of the guy with the smartest, most well-thought out, logical point of view.

It’s a damn shame when the color of your skin or sexual orientation is still any kind of issue.

It’s a damn shame when a Cox Cable repairman (or any other repairman) can set an appointment, miss an appointment, and after being called to task over it have nothing to say about why he didn’t bother to show up or call to let me know he wasn’t coming. No apology. No remorse. No answer at all. I sit and waste a day waiting for a guy who evidently had no intention of coming in the first place. That is my weekend experience but it happens all over the world every day and it’s a damn shame!

It’s a damn shame when people can’t remember to say thank you for holding open a door or for spending your money with them.

It’s a damn shame when people will knock you down to get down an aisle or through a door and the words “excuse me” never cross their mind.

It’s a damn shame that it even crosses a man’s mind that jerking an award out of a little girl’s hands is acceptable behavior. Someone should have slapped Kanye West off the damn stage – THAT would have been the best video of the year. Where is Toby Keith when you really need him?

It’s a damn shame when you think it’s okay to spend more than you make and then honestly believe that the government owes you a handout or a bailout. You are an idiot and got yourself in your own mess so fix it yourself or suffer the consequences.

It’s a damn shame when people think that good thoughts are more important than hard work; when meditation has become more highly regarded than action; and when yoga classes are full and math classes are empty.

It’s a damn shame that people with money and jobs and who can afford to make their mortgage payments feel it is acceptable to walk away from their obligations because it makes sense “strategically” to do so. It’s called an obligation. You made a commitment. It’s a contract! You should keep your word even though it no longer “makes sense” to do so simply because you gave your word.

It’s a damn shame that parents have turned their children over to the television, the internet, their cell phone, the school system and their peers to raise them instead of stepping in with the firm hand of love to control the upbringing of their own children. (If you agree with that one, then you are going to love my next book, Your Kids Are Your Own Fault: A Guide For Raising Responsible, Productive Adults.)

It’s a damn shame that people resort to talking heads on television and on the radio to do their thinking for them.

It’s a damn shame that reading is down yet television watching is up.

It’s a damn shame when television shows are made about people who think 18 kids is a good idea (the Duggers) and about self-centered, egotistical brats with 8 kids (Jon & Kate) and about single mothers on welfare with 6 kids who have 8 more kids (Octomom.) More than that, it’s a damn shame that people watch them.

It’s a damn shame when you spend more on your cup of coffee than you do to feed your child a healthy meal. (Not a Happy Meal – a healthy meal.)

It’s a damn shame that 25% of teenage girls have an STD. Parents, where the hell are you?

It’s a damn shame that daddies are too uninvolved to teach their little boys how to be men and to teach their little girls what a man is. (By the way, the idiots who appear on Big Brother and The Bachelor and the other reality shows are NOT real men.) A man knows how to act with integrity, ethics, honesty and knows how to treat others with respect, compassion and dignity. That lesson is being missed. Instead it is being replaced with a tolerance for insolence, arrogance, entitlement and disrespect.

It’s a damn shame that mommas let their little girls become obsessed with the shallow and the superficial. Parents have to display the behavior they want their kids to exhibit.

It’s a damn shame that two thirds of our country is obese and going to die early when they don’t have to.

It’s a damn shame that teachers get paid less than fast food workers. And it’s a damn shame that tenure allows the bad ones to keep their jobs and that low wages forces the good ones to look for other jobs.

It’s a damn shame that cops and fire fighters and soldiers get paid so little and politicians get paid so much.

It’s a damn shame when Monday Night Football is more important than making sure your kid is studying for their spelling test.

It’s a damn shame when texting in the movie theater is more important than respecting the people sitting around you putting up with your distraction.

It’s a damn shame that people think it’s okay to take a cell phone call during dinner with you at a restaurant.

MOSTLY, it’s a damn shame that any of this even needs to be said.


AMEN!

2 comments:

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

Most excellent series of rants...I pretty much am on board with all of them

Meribah said...

I agree with most of these...but I still think President Obama didn't do anything (yet) to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. I think the Nobel committee jumped the gun on that in order to do some major league arse-licking.
Anyway, good post. :)

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