Treat others as you would want them to treat you

How do you treat people? A beautiful post from Robert Pimentel helps us to remember the golden rule in life. Much needed post for the world right now. Like and leave a comment!!!

We The People….

“It must be, I thought, one of the race’s most persistent and comforting hallucinations to trust that “it can’t happen here” — that one’s own time and place is beyond cataclysm.”
― John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids

 

How many more times will we have to donate funds, hold vigils and extend our condolences in the face of a terrorist attack? When will our leaders realize they need to do something different in the way of how they protect us in our backyard? They ask us to stand strong as a nation, Newsflash! We have been doing so since the birth of this great country. This nation’s strength and ability to come together on all occasions is what makes us great. Our government’s national security process as it is to date is failing to secure the American people.

Are our leaders not ashamed that it took the murder of 49 innocent people for the Senate to entertain putting more laws in place? Explain to me the rationale for proposing additional laws or bills when those already instead of enforcing current laws. The federal agencies are sitting on their hands; it does not take a rocket scientist to see the writing on the wall. The warning signs were there if we go by the little information released in the media. No explanation of the ignored signs came out. Usually, “where there is smoke, there is fire.” In the case of the terrorist, this was a three alarm fire and they turned a blind eye to the potential danger. Shame on You. Due to their nonchalant investigative procedures, the deranged anti- American lunatic was able to obtain not only a handgun but a semi- automatic rifle. Law abiding citizens and veterans must jump through hoops and give the blood of their first born child to purchase a weapon to protect their family. A veteran is more heavily scrutinized than purchasing a firearm than a person on the no- fly list and national watch list.

The media states that the San Bernadino terrorists were hard to locate. They were living normal American lives. Let’s see,  Normal Americans have jobs, pay bills, own credit cards or bank accounts, visit family and friends, shop for food, clothes, and entertainment. Wouldn’t all of these things leave a trail? So, I guess they were supposed to wear a t- shirt indicating that they are the next person to commit an act of terrorism. Better yet, they should hang a flag at their home announce their allegiance to a terror group. These people will never be that blatant that is why the vigilant investigation of people on these lists or social media spouting hateful rhetoric is needed.

What is even more interesting is, once a person placed on the terror watch list, whether convicted or not they should in no way have the right to purchase a weapon of any kind. When the person attempts, that person deserves to be arrested questioned, held pending further investigation and prosecuted for breaking the law.

I am not a Trump supporter, although I do agree with the following statements about our leaders made at a rally in Atlanta last Wednesday.

• “They have to get tougher; they have to get sharper, they have to get smarter.
• “If we do not solve it, it is going to eat our country alive,” he said of America’s security threat.

We are a nation united under God. A family. This country founded on love, freedom, family, culture, diversity and the list goes on. American’s trust in the ability of the government to keep us safe is dwindling. We as a nation are growing tired of idle promises from the low-hung heads of government representatives. It is time for action. They will not thwart every attack, but the frequency and success of these occurrences will lessen the loss of precious lives. In the meantime, we as citizens must do what we can to protect our loved ones and diligently keep watch in our communities.

Quote courtesy of Goodreads.

Images courtesy of Pixabay and Flckr.

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover: An Idiom for People, Too

How do you view people? I love the knowledge Marilyn Davis shares in her latest post on “Two Drops of Ink”.

The Challenge of Creative Writing when you have Deadlines to Meet

Awesome article for professional writers!!!

Celebrating Black History Month.

The month of February is the designated month to celebrate Black History. This is the time where black Americans adorn their dashiki’s, Kente cloth and view movies and documentaries about the struggle for equality. Black History month triggers a stronger sense of pride in African Americans due to the accomplishments of those who fought for change. I am truly grateful for the civil rights leaders and activists who made it possible for me to have equal rights in America. Although I must say that pride, culture and self-respect should not be celebrated one month out of a year.

I’m laughing right now… I feel like a major league athlete with seconds left on the game clock in a championship game. There is an ominous hush over the crowd in anticipation of what will happen next. In this case what I will say next! Many will not agree or like what I pen next but I’m entitled to my feelings and opinion. As a Christian and a writer I will write just that regardless of the backlash.

Quite a few use Black History month as a time to alienate other races and impose a sense of entitlement. Supposedly they feel African Americans are deserving of certain things due to the struggles of our fore fathers. The African American community has come a long way but at the same time we are hypocritical and ignorant to the fact that we have earned and taken our rightful seat in society. If you want a better position in society, you must earn it! Don’t expect it to be handed to you! My mother always told her children… “No one is going to hand you anything in life. You must go out and get it for yourself.” There are no reparations for slavery, no forty acres and a mule and if you are waiting for the voyage back to Africa let me make you aware of a fact. Africans do not consider “Black Americans” as Africans! We are called “White” in Africa. They have more respect for Caucasian Americans than Black Americans. I’m the ex-wife of a Nigerian prince of the Yoruba tribe and have been told this by many Africans and have been referred to as such constantly. As you may have noticed by now, no special privileges have been offered to you because there is a black president. It is us as a race who continue to oppress ourselves by failing to take advantage of the benefits obtained and allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed with complacency.

Black history month should not be used as a reason to turn up our noses at other races and cultures. I view Black history as American history; Civil Rights is a time to be recorded in American History. Once we as a country see and treat it as such the division among races will dissipate. I refuse to be a part of this separatist mentality and I know there are some of you who feel the same way. While we honor Black Americans who fought for us to have equal rights, lets honor the White Americans who fought as well. I honor the following Caucasian Americans for their role in the civil rights movement.

• Viola Liuzzo– Mother of 5 shot dead at the age of 39 while shuttling fellow activist to the Montgomery Airport after the “Bloody Sunday” march. She worked with Martin Luther King Jr. assisting with coordination and logistics.
• President Dwight Eisenhower– Used federal troops to assist the “Little Rock Nine” in 1957. With the Civil Rights Act of 1957, Eisenhower’s administration became the first since Reconstruction to pass civil rights legislation.
• Michael Henry Schwermer & Andrew Goodman– Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) field workers killed in Philadelphia, Mississippi, by the Ku Klux Klan in response to their civil rights work, which included promoting voting registration among African Americans, most of whom had been disenfranchised in the state since 1890.
• President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy– June 11, 1963, President Kennedy spoke to the nation in a televised address to ask for support of the civil rights bill. He said, “We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution. The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities.”
• First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt– She fought hard for legislation against lynching and lent her presence and support to the NAACP’s art exhibit on the problem. She challenged the segregation ordinance when at a convention in Birmingham in 1938. And when the Daughters of the American Revolution barred black opera singer Marian Andersen from performing at Constitution Hall, she withdrew her membership and told the nation why in one of her columns.

The list goes on and on!!! Just as I have done my research, I urge you to educate yourself about Black History in its entirety. This is important information!!!

 

How can we as a people continue to excel to great heights, if we continue to look in the rear view mirror instead of focusing on the road that will lead to a better future.  America is multi- cultural melting pot, every day I wake up and see the beauty of this country through the diversity of its people. As a proud African American or Black woman which ever term you choose to use to describe my ethnicity. I really don’t care because my ethnicity alone does not determine who I am as a person. I am an American who refuses to hate or punish another person because of the fear and ignorance of another. This has been going on since the beginning of time. It can stop if we choose to take steps as a people to make a change.  May this article be seen as my first step! What will be your first step towards change?