I've always wanted to be able to write like my mother. She is now writing an opinion column for a local paper. There are so many jokes in that sentence, it makes my head spin! Here is her column from this week, it should explain my jealousy...and why I really want to make an effort to watch my mouth!
A farmer, who made cash money working for the local exterminator company - always with a smile on his face. A good husband to his wife and father to his children - recognized and respected by townspeople and all who knew him. He was allegedly stabbed to death doing a routine job in a small North Central town of fewer than 300 people.
A student who debated about going to the lecture class at DeKalb University in Illinois – the class was so large, the professor who was a graduate student did not even know him, he could get the notes from other people in the class and he had a chance to go home to work over the weekend for some badly needed cash, - but he was a good student, raised on that Mid-west ethic, do what you should, when you should, so he went – the last time he would go anywhere. Many of the students of DeKalb were low-income, middle-class students whose parents were working two jobs to put their kids through college. They lived in small communities around Chicago, not much different from ours.
A new TV show, written for someone to make money by selling much advertising, and pitting children against children will showcase this week, “My Dad is better than Your Dad.” Those words have perpetually caused trouble. A show, “Two and a Half Men” which began as a comedy, but is now disgraceful with a kid who sasses grownups and hears things beyond his age comprehension. And of course, there are many, many more. I hope no one watches and no one buys the products that are advertised on these programs.
America’s violence is catching up with small town life. We blame TV and the internet and each must take some responsibility. The world has become so violent– even in our part of the world, where we believe we are so safe and our children are safe. The man who stabbed the farmer/exterminator was known as an eccentric, but few believed he was actually dangerous. Who knew that charismatic graduate student from a university 130 miles down the road would buy four guns and return to a campus where he was a brilliant student and so successful.
People who commit such crimes do not seem to think beyond the act – the aftermath of lives shattered.
What can we as individuals do? If the world is to change – it will have to begin with us – each one of us. We Americans are a trusting people that should not change. However, I believe we all need a good dose of old-time religion. We need to reach out with understanding. For all of us the world is difficult to understand, for some it is impossible. For a simple starter, control the programs your family watches, and the sites family members visit, or the games played on the internet. Younger members do not understand that someone who is stabbed or shot is dead. Teach that problems can be faced in other ways than violence and demonstrate that every chance you get.
For the second simple change, we can watch our mouths. Often when I am in stores or around people, I hear words used in normal conversation, which should not be used in public. Young people use language they have heard at the dinner table or on their favorite TV show and do not realize these words are not used in civil society. None of us are guiltless in this practice, but all of us can do better. You bring back kindness and consideration.
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