by Dennis Townsend, Contributing Writer Where would you be if your life was different than it is right now? Life itself is the programmer that dictates our mental and moral attitudes while circumstance is a constant wild card. If you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth so to speak,then your views of the world differs slightly than those who fight every day to survive. As a poor person you try to imagine what it would be like to be able to feed your family a healthy meal three times a day. Those who live on “food stamps” have a very hard time surviving and the well to do seem to have trouble understanding that. But as a poor person you are the first to understand the burdens of those in line at the food pantries. Strange, no one ever does a story on the day in the life of a person trying to get enough food for a family meal. The false assumption that everybody on welfare is either a drug addict or alcoholic or both, with a lazy streak running down their spine is light years from the truth. The politicians like to talk that rhetoric to ease their conscience’s when they cut funding for the poor. They talk about saving the taxpayers money but they forget that 79 percent of the people on welfare had a job once in their lifetime that was taxed in which some went into the same fund that goes to social programs. These programs are suppose to be the safety nets when those same workers fall on hard times themselves. But instead of those nets being there, we find that mismanagement by politicians has caused these safety nets to have numerous holes in them. In the scheme of life our destinies are pre-determined and how we define ourselves is a constant work in progress. The man down the street may not have much food, but he is willing to share because his heart tells him that this is the right thing to do. Would his heart tell him the same thing if he was well off? Can money change the real you inside? Yes, there are those who give all they can to help those less fortunate, and yes they do include some very well to do individuals such as Bill Gates. But can you imagine the impact in the world if all the millionaires got together to wipe out hunger? Or how about a collaboration to bring clean drinking water to every remote village where the men and women now have to walk miles just to get non-clean, contaminated water. There are countless organizations who do what they can for those without, but they can only do so much with what they have. They have plenty of heart, but not enough money and it’s sad to say that there are those who have plenty of money and no heart. I do not begrudge the wealthy because they are rich, I’m just saying that there are a lot of unfortunate people around the world who could be saved if more of the wealthy would realize that we are our brothers' keepers. Just sayin'. DLTPONCH33 by Dennis Townsend, Contributing Writer During the holiday season we have a tendency to go all out in our attempts to make this holiday season better than the last one, even if it means going into debt to do so. It is a time of family closeness, and we become far to aware that some relatives may not be here another year. So we are determined to create a lasting, happy memory for the seniors of the family. We see the television commercials showing families gathered around the perfect Christmas tree and a dining table overflowing with food, and all seems right in the world. These are treasured moments indeed and we would do well to enjoy every bit of it because all is not right in the world, and we are headed for an uncertain future. And if you have young children, how did you explain the violence that’s happening in a world that was singing “Peace on Earth and Good Will Towards Men"? How did you tell your children that Santa would be safe as he flew across the skies with Rudolph and that nose shining bright? How do you tell the children that they will be safe and that nothing bad will happen to them while they are attending an event at school? While those may be difficult questions to answer, there is no harder question to answer than the question, why don’t we have any food to eat? We have come to define the holiday season as being a happy time and it is for most, but there are millions who spent Christmas hungry, cold and alone. In a perfect world, there would be no hunger and everybody would have a giant Christmas tree with lots of presents underneath and the word terrorist would never be spoken. But alas, the world is far from perfect and that’s why it’s so important that we make sure that during these troubling times we endeavor not to tarnish the hopes and the dreams of our youngest people. The message that we need to keep sending is yes Virginia, in spite of what you see, dreams still can come true. Educating our children about the evils in the world is a job better left to parents, not social media. Molding and shaping young minds is a delicate task these days, and we all know what could happen with the wrong teachings. And we should remember that some children are smart enough to know that household circumstances make it impossible to get that new X-Box like the kid down the street. And since every story has villains and heroes it should be very easy to explain to your children that there are bad people everywhere in the world and that there are just as many heroes and that good always wins. Life is full of ups and downs and by taking time to explain this to your children they will understand the meaning of hard times and the values of having morals and knowing right from wrong. Best of all you show them that no matter how gloomy the picture, they may see you suffer, but it is important that they never see you give up hope. Teach the children well.
by Dennis Townsend, Contributing Writer
Angel is 16 years old and she gravitates to the beat of a different drummer. She likes Roy Harper comics, reading the Hobbit, and choreographing dance moves to Korean music. She lives in the world of panda bear tattoos and rainbow colored hair. She is truly unique but more than that, she's family, my niece's daughter, and all she is is what we love about her. Her life at this stage should be a never ending song of happiness yet she has had to overcome bouts of low self-esteem due to being bullied just for being who she is. Low self-esteem is just one of the by-products of being bullied and if there’s two things that’s known about self-esteem is that there’s nothing innate or God-given about it and that it's something that must be dealt with along life’s way. Those who are unique like Angel are often a target of others who's own lives are dismal so they are opposed to change in the status quo. Sometimes the changes that they see are a direct result of a bullied person who decided that their self image needed improvement in order to belong in a society that’s forever unforgiving. How ironic. When a person is bullied, their lives and their happiness becomes restricted and it often leads to fundamental feelings of inadequacy which in turn leads to other problems such as overeating, alcoholism, and depression. In women, low self-esteem is viewed as an epidemic that causes them to make unwise life choices such as marrying unworthy men, making bad career decisions, and going from substance abuse to tolerating being abused. Some believe that women are more vulnerable to the symptoms of low self-esteem because the world as a whole is seen as a male dominated society. It’s hard to have self-esteem when society as a group, is constantly defining you, and in your eyes, you see yourself as not good enough. You acquire all the symptoms of the dreaded “if only” syndrome. You begin to think, "if only I was prettier or smarter or had a better body". We all have been programmed to believe that we must meet a certain criteria as far as our appearance. goes. The desire to be thin has women starving themselves. That sends out the wrong message and starts some women on a never-ending perpetual journey trying to “fix” themselves to gain societies approval. You weren’t born with low self-esteem, it either came from parents who told you that you were worthless, or the sad fact that you never got picked to join the “in” crowd because you chose to color your hair red. How does one change those “worthless me” messages? Sometimes it requires counseling and or a support group. It will also require the best weapons of all, family and friends. Angel has her good days and her bad days, and when she feels overwhelmed, she reaches out to family and friends and we are all there to keep her spirits up. You must take the time to identify the good points you have and don’t put so much emphasis on the bad points. The greatest victory in life is the ability to live with yourself and to accept your shortcomings. You may be a long way from where you want to be, but if you really take a good look at yourself, you may realize that you’re not so bad after all.
DLTPONCHO33
by Dennis Townsend, Contributing Writer We are at a tipping point as far as police and community relations are concerned and now those sworn to “protect and to serve” need protecting themselves. And after hearing news reports everyday about police being ambushed and killed, surprisingly, the statistics say that the deaths of police officers is at an all time low. On the other side of that statistic is the troubling trend of police officers shooting unarmed suspects which has risen by 40%. The latest killing of a man in a wheelchair by police highlights that we have a long way to go on this matter, and a very short time to solve the problem. Why are police shooting first and asking questions later, it’s simple, self preservation, commonly known as fear. When you are in an occupation that requires you to carry a firearm, it means your life will be in danger at some point and your mind will automatically kick into survival mode powered by adrenaline, then in the human brain it’s either kill or be killed. There is no neutral ground.
The average person has no clue about what it's like to be in a gun fight with someone intent upon killing you to get away at all cost. If you peek out from behind your cover at the wrong time, it’s curtains. Bulletproof vest are fine for protecting the body, but that leaves the head vulnerable which makes you a 50/50 target. But when the threat is from a knife or any other non firearm, hand to hand combat should be an alternative to lethal force. There is a fine line between the two, and this is where the unrest in the community rears its ugly head.The public does not have a problem with an officer using reasonable force to protect citizens from harm, and any life threatening circumstance should be met with likewise retaliation. But for a police officer to willfully shoot an unarmed suspect in the back 5 times is no less than murder. On the other side of the spectrum, a police officer was just cleared in Cleveland, Ohio for jumping on the hood of a probable suspect's moving car and shooting through the windshield at point blank range 17 times, killing an unarmed man and women and saying he feared for his life was a pure case of panic shooting and in my opinion was unjustified. He was however telling the truth when he said he feared for his life. The number of times he fired his weapon is proof of that. More modern crime fighting techniques with an emphasis on non lethal ways to take down a suspect without shooting him numerous times is in order. Sure, as heartless as it might sound, killing a suspect saves local and state governments from having to foot the bill for a lengthy trial, not to mention not having to house the criminal for years at a cost to the tax-payers. I for one am not saying that the rise in police shootings amounts to executions but emotions should not be a deciding factor in the search for justice especially if the so called suspect turns out to be innocent. For a police officer to be the judge, jury, and executioner is justice moving in reverse, and all non lethal avenues should be explored to protect not only the suspects rights, but the officer"s as well. Use of stun guns should be more of an option when possible as one solution. With that said, if a police officer finds him or herself in an all out gun fight, then I am all for whatever it takes to protect lives. Body-cams are a very good idea as they will record the truth and will not distort it to fit the circumstances, and is the perfect tool to protect all involved. The other problem that has come to light now is the decrease in the number of police recruits. Many now see being a police officer as too dangerous especially when they see themselves becoming targets. Should there be a lot more psychological testing done on recruits to make sure they are not prone to becoming trigger-happy? Possibly, but I do know one thing, without the police to draw a line in the sand between us and the criminal element, life would be hell. DLTPONCHO33
By, Crystal S. Kauffman, Contributing Writer
Do you ever have unwanted gift cards after the holiday season has passed? If so, think about how many friends and family will be giving out gift cards you may not want. Additionally, you may not be able to use each gift card for many different reasons, which means the gift card will expire and become worthless. During the upcoming holiday season, think about how you can change someone's life using the very gift card, which you may not use or want.
Many different websites will allow you to resell the gift card to them and offer you cash back for each unused card. However, how about donating your cards to the military, patients in the hospital (with cancer or other illnesses), or to the less fortunate in your community? During this holiday season, many families may not have food or presents for Christmas. Therefore, why not take your unwanted gift cards or even gifts order to donate them to others, who will enjoy knowing that you are thinking of them. These families will enjoy the fact that you are thinking about them during this holiday season. During the holiday season, many children and seniors are unable to celebrate Christmas for whatever reason, whether it is because of financial reasons or they have no family. You could pick someone in your own neighborhood to give unwanted or used gift cards too. Additionally, soldiers and military families could use the unwanted gift card. The family could use the gift, in order to buy special things that his or her loved ones may need. Many websites or organizations can help you find a perfect family to donate your unwanted gift cards too. Sometimes, patients at nursing homes or in the hospital could also use the gift cards. This act of kindness will brighten his or her holiday season to receive a gift from a caring person. Try contacting a local nursing home or hospital for details on how to give the gift cards to the patients. Furthermore, you could help bring joy to many patients by collecting unused gift cards from others you know. This is a great way to help others who are less fortunate and bless others during this holiday season. Additionally, ask others to get involved and help you to collect unused gift cards, like school and church. This holiday season; take a moment to bless others with your unwanted gift cards and cards you collect. References: Personal Experience |
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