I come to all of those within life’s struggle with the nth
amount of due respect & love for life itself. At this time I wish to share
with you some thoughts I’ve been haunted with the last 3 years. Poverty &
the struggle has never been a gift or a blessing at birth to any individual,
yet the majority of mankind often exists daily with its presence. Akin to
politics & religion which often ‘divides & conquers’ Nations &
Countries, this gripper disease divides people who struggle in their daily
existence. For many decades, these individuals were seen as ‘minorities’ to
minimize their multitude & daily struggle for an existence. I will not
refer to those who ‘struggle’ as the ‘minority’ solely labeled by separation of
race, due to the fact that the ‘struggle & poverty’ do not discriminate
based on color, therefore I will refer to their multitudes as the ‘majority’.
At birth, mankind is given the ability to ‘bob & weave’,
grow & develop, to increase its intellect & worth. Today however, where
the World is experiencing rebellions, revolutions & wars, it seems that
mankind’s priorities are focused on existing with The Wish Book of Living in
its shirt pocket. If man has the intellect to spend on the creation of Weapons
of Mass Destruction, then he also has the intellect to stamp out hunger,
homelessness & diseases. We have the ability to traverse throughout the
Universe, to create nuclear & atomic weapons, to isolate cells to create
& save lives….yet, we have denied ourselves the ability to create
sustainable edible produce & products to end hunger. Perhaps if man would
dream of living in unison more than merely existing or dying, the World would
see a period of unprecedented growth & peace.
Having lived in the country myself, I acknowledge the fact,
that it takes more effort & strength to raise food for the ‘majority’ then
it does to pull a trigger or push a button. Growth should be a never ending
story for us…I also acknowledge the fact that there are individuals within the
‘minority’ who use ‘hunger & poverty’ as a means to control the ‘majority’,
therefore they find it more favorable to limit the ‘sustainable quality’ of
living for the majority so that they may maintain their membership in the
minority.
During the last Federal Elections I found myself caught in a
time warp…the rhetoric by candidates who isolated races & groups of
individuals within the ‘majority’, reminded me of the 60’s. Their intent was
not to merely get elected, but to ‘divide & conquer’ the citizenry within
the ‘majority’. They railed against any issues which pertained to the
‘sustainable quality’ within our daily existence. Personally, they did not
succeed in their false portraits of ‘shortcomings’ within the ‘majority’, but
they displayed the true colors of their political weaknesses & their inability
to be a trailblazer with issues involving the ‘majority’. Thus, their platforms
& agendas were focused on the top 2% instead of the 98%. Their vile
rhetoric & tactics not only opened up many wounds within the ‘majority’
& caused divisions within the citizenry, but left a chasm within their own
political parties. Lacking strength in character to represent the 98%, they
threw them under the bus to rub elbows with the 2% in the ‘minority’. Due to
their lack of representation for the ‘whole of the people’, we have seen the
‘majority’ strengthen with a swell in its numbers. More times than not, I came
to perceive them as ‘pawn brokers’ for isolationism by the ‘minority’ within
the 2%. Often displaying a lack of moral
fiber, they attacked many provisions & promises made decades ago,
endangering the integrity of our political foundation & the very survival
of many within the ‘majority’.
It has taken me 4 yrs to figure out why so many Republicans
& those within the ‘minority’ have such disdain for our President & the
First Lady. I couldn’t understand what it was about the President & First
Family that had me so enamored with their presence in the White House. Then
during the Presidential Address this year, it dawned on me….an element that had
become extinct during Republican Presidencies…’Human Value’. At first, I
thought it was the fact that he wasn’t some ‘DC archaic corner stone’ who
shined shoes & played corporate ‘pocket pool’. He came on the scene as a
‘marathon runner’, not electing to run a relay race in the ‘political
rope-a-dope maze’. He was the young ‘underdog’ contender in a Nation looking
for hope & progressive change. Then they tried another ‘archaic ruse’, the
‘old race card’. That was simply an ‘alibi’ for their ‘pawnshop’ license &
silent pacts made within the 2% to retain & maintain their status &
quality of life.
‘Human Value’…the Family in the White House made me feel
like I was no longer just a statistic, I had worth, I wasn’t just a vote cast,
I was an American! They criticized the rhetoric & attacks on the 98% &
those programs which were vital to the survival of many within the ‘majority’. We
actually have a First Lady that is not only beautiful, but is passionate &
compassionate about the welfare & quality of life for all citizens. She’s energetic
enough to take on the issues of our personal health & fitness along with
the hardships of our military heroes & soldiers. I often feel that much of
the political criticism that is tossed her way is out of jealousy, in other
words, she has one happy hubby in the WH!! Back to Human Value…
This past Memorial Day as I watched the National Memorial
Service, I was forced to ponder the many sacrifices our fellow countrymen have
made through the generations & wars. Tens of thousands who lost their lives
in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam….I watched old war documentaries & movies,
realizing how far we had advanced with technology in our military realms. As
they spoke of the casualties within our past wars, I thought, how many more
lives could have been saved then, with the technologies of today. How many more
civilian lives could have been saved, the length of the wars shortened &
the massive territory they encompassed perhaps lessened. So many of us complain
about the magnitude of our ‘power & might’, but I couldn’t help feeling
with the stats of casualties from other wars, being in 2 wars for 10yrs now,
that we would once more see tens of thousands of our fellow Americans buried
without those advancements. Drones, a pet project of Bush Jr…expanded by
President Obama…their cost is astronomical, but how many more American lives
would we lose if we had to replace them with boots on the ground instead?
Without them, how many families would have an empty chair at their table &
the impact a loss of life would have on children? If a drone can save the lives
of our soldiers & minimize civilian deaths, then I agree with a limited
use. I also agree with his ‘cautionary’ decisions & actions abroad. I do
not believe we should send Americans abroad for ‘false portraits’ again…to tell
you the truth, I wish that all people could just lay down their weapons &
go home!!
Human Value…what price or value do we place on a ‘human
life’? We often base our appraisal on a personal basis of family, friends &
individuals within our community that touch our lives. What makes their value
more precious & priceless than an individual in the next community, city or
state? Is not all life precious? Do we not ALL play a vital role in the total
portrait of life? I believe that all life has value, you may have to shake up
the piggy bank & look in the bottom for it, but it’s there. Every day
across our Nation, we see the ’devalue’ of Human Life…domestic crimes, drive
bys, accidental shootings, mass murders & terrorist actions. Many times the
victims are young members of our society, taken before their natural time,
unable to blossom or shine, unable to complete their role in our lives. I
cannot comprehend the mindset of the mass murderer or terrorist who seeks glory
through his heinous actions. Society as a whole does not remember his name or
the journey that brought him to such a juncture in life…we only see the
victims, feel their tragic loss & shed tears for their absence…what have
the perps gained or changed by their actions? Not a damned thing!!! Our politicians
refuse to hear the voices of the ‘majority’…they refuse to place Human Value in
the equation of Gun Control…the bottom line is always corporate gains with the
2nd Amendment as an alibi.
I think of Human Value every time I hear that an inmate within
our penal realms has been released with innocence after years of incarceration.
How do you put a price on 20 yrs of life? Time within itself is priceless, once
it’s gone, you can never retrieve it. Take 20 yrs from a social icon or
billionaire, how the hell do you put a price on that…is it enough to say it was
a mistake & just walk away? You already have one broken life; wouldn’t you
want to fix a broken justice system also?
We have an infrastructure in this Nation that is crumbling; in dire need
of repairs & replacement…lives have been lost as bridges collapse. Are not
our lives worth the cost of a bridge? Let the wife or offspring of a politician
lose their lives in a bridge collapse & see if he doesn’t add pork to a bill
to get that bridge rebuilt & have his name on it!! Our country contributes
monetarily to the infrastructure of many countries & nations abroad, as a
people, do we deserve any less? Plain damned sad….our politicians are out of
touch with those they claim to represent. We’re ‘out of sight, out of mind’
until it’s time to torture us with pleas for campaign donations & media ads
again. It’s time for us to put ‘human value’ back into the equation of our
daily lives & political realms…we’re not just numbers & statistics,
matter taking up space…we ALL play a vital role in the total scope &
portrait of life…we ALL have Human Value & worth!
I thank you for your presence & patience as I share my
thoughts with you.
Lady Gray
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