Lifted Paragraph Project -Seven

This paragraph was posted a triad of years ago.  It is reposted here not because of elegance of expression or excellence of writing, but because it expresses a notion about which I am passionate.

"It is my belief that it is the responsibility of the parents to teach the child as it grows and develops that he is not Caesar, and that the world does not exist for the purpose of gratifying his every whim." 

Skip a Rope #T

The attitudes and behaviors in the home influence and shape the beliefs and outlooks of the young who are raised in the home.  This is a hard yet irrefutable truth that many would prefer to deny.

Consider this.  The child exposed to violence in the household, the child who hears defamatory speech has no choice but to be influenced by these.  Either he will adopt the thinking and behaviors exhibited by his parents, or he will rebel against them and choose another path.  Either way, the home influence is powerful.

Historical flashback.  The late 1960s contained many strands of ugly threads in the fabric of our society.  It was the era of Viet Nam.  It was a period of intense struggle for racial equality, equality to be desired, but ugliness in the resistance to it was evident all too frequently.

While the causes and the skirmishes may manifest along somewhat different lines, in many ways the society of today is little different.  The fabric we are weaving is yet far from perfect.
 
November, 1967.  A young country singer, Henson Cargill, released a recording entitled "Skip a Rope."  It hit number one on the country charts where it stayed for eight weeks.  It also clocked number twenty-five on the pop charts.  The song was eventually covered by a plethora of artists including such powerhouse singers as Bobby Bare and George Jones.

In spite of its popularity and tremendous sales, the lyrics were controversial; controversial because they spoke truth and many there were who did not want to hear the truth, nor did they want it spoken.  (Does this sound familiar?)

You may readily find Cargill's rendition on YouTube.  I have chosen to reproduce the lyrics here so you might ponder them.

Skip a Rope

by Joe South, as sung by Henson Cargill

Oh, listen to the children while they play,
Now ain't it kinda funny what the children say,
Skip a rope.

Daddy hates mommy, mommy hates dad,
Last night you shoulda heard the fight they had,
Gave little sister another bad dream,
She woke us all up with a terrible scream.

Skip a rope, skip a rope

Cheat on your taxes, don't be a fool,
Now what was that they said about a Golden Rule?
Never mind the rules, just play to win,
And hate your neighbor for the shade of his skin.

Skip a rope, skip a rope.

Stab 'em in the back, that's the name of the game,
And mommy and daddy are who's to blame.

Skip a rope, skip a rope,

Just listen to your children while they play,
It's really not very funny, what the children say,
Skip a rope, skip a rope.

227 Years of Self-rule

March 4, 1789  the first Congress of the United States meets in New York City, puts constitution into effect, receives proposed  Bill of Rights.

I'll save you doing the math: that was 227 years ago. 

We've come a long way, Baby.  The question is:  Are we headed in the right direction?

We've grown, we've seen many advances in technologies, many changes in the social fabric; we've engaged in many conflicts.  Old Glory has fifty stars and she still flies.  The question is: How long will she continue to wave?

We are given to "progress," to compulsions, and to deliberations, to argument, and even, alas, to outrage and insults:  The question is: Are these  the values by which we really want to live?

One could hope that the momentum of descent into  a morass, a quagmire, could be slowed, could be stopped before it is too late.  And the question is:  If that original set of congressmen of 1789, in their powdered wigs and frilled shirts could see us today, would they see the extension of the body and the nation as they envisioned it, or would they see an asylum run by the inmates?

The prayer is: God help the denizens of the USA.

Color Me Puzzled

MNWR headquarters is occupied by militants, a situation about which I know only what I read on social media, i.e., opinions and flame-throwing from left, right, and heaven knows where, and from the mainstream newspapers and tv outlets, which is pretty much the same thing in a more sophisticated format.

All that to say that with what knowledge I have gained about the West from my years of living and reading, a good bit of that time in the West I know enough about the situation to disseminate obfuscating and obscuring smoke and virtually no light.  Which is another way of saying I know about as much about it as any other random person you might encounter, or read or listen to on the airwaves.

Yes, I could give a sketchy rundown of the history and throw around names such as Malheur, Roosevelt, Bundy, Hammill, Harney, numerous politicians and even some alphabet salad: FBI, BLM, NWR, there's your proof of that.  But I reiterate: I could shed no light.

But.  But an article I read in the Oregonian stated that the occupiers were using BLM computers and had access to the information thereon.

 I doubt I am much smarter than the average bear, but one question.  Okay, compound question:  Where is the power switch to the compound and why has someone not flipped it to the "OFF" position?

If you have followed this episode in the various media and if you are a thoughtful person, you may have observed that there is a number  of words that appear in virtually every article you read that have not been used here.