In our early years, we long to be 13, a teenager so our parents will no longer treat us like a child. At the age of 13, we can’t wait to be 18 so we can do the things adults do and not get in trouble for it. At the age of 18, we learn that in most things in life we are not considered adults until we reach the age of 21 so once again we find ourselves rushing time. During most of these 21 years of our lives, we are taught the fundamental lessons that serve as the foundation on which our lives are to be built. We are taught right from wrong and how to know the difference. We are taught not to steal, lie or cheat. We are taught to respect others and to be fair and impartial. We are taught not to be judgmental of those that are less fortunate than ourselves. We are taught the importance of education, pride, confidence, and honor. We are taught to have pride in our work and to strive to be the very best at everything we do. We are taught that the love of our parents is the one true love that has no conditions to exist. All these lessons are embedded into our minds. Then when we become of age and we step out into the real world, we find that all we have been taught only truly exist in our own minds. You don’t have to be 21 to be shipped overseas and risk or give your life for your country with your parents’ signature you’ll be old enough to do that at the age of 17. Many go to church so they can empower themselves as righteous and judge others over just about anything they can conceive to be different than their so-called norm. There is no time for being courteous or thoughtful, it’s a race to see who can get ahead of who and who can have the best and more of it. It’s not about being honest and truthful it’s about devising a way to beat the system, outsmart the laws of our land, and finding ways to pull every string, use every shortcut, and everyone that has any kind of power to help us overcome our mistakes. Our education’s are not used to make the world better. They are used more so to make things cheaper so the consumer can pay more and get less. We design a radar to detect speeds so we can control our highways and streets to make them safe, someone designs a radar detector so we can break the laws without getting caught. We are taught not to cheat and to be fair, yet when we look around us we find we are surrounded by cheats and unfairness. We strive to be the best we can at what we do only to find no one wants the best because it costs too much. Just do whatever you can to make it look OK as cheap as you can so we can get paid. The unconditional love we believed in now comes with conditions, contracts, and ultimatums leading to disbelief. Businesses want their employees to pass a criminal background check so they can come to work for them ripping people off. Selling them faulty products, below standard food, and even lying to them on the phone. All that we are taught growing up only applied while we were growing up it would seem. Because if you want to fit in and make it in this world this day and time you will need to learn how to be the exact opposite of just about everything you are taught. You will have to be good at it, good enough not to get caught, and good enough to fool everyone else. Some change I accept, some I will never. I may not come out on top of the world because I refuse to lie, cheat, and steal. I may not get all the good jobs because I take pride in my work, I do my best work and I’m not cheap. I may be denied help from insurance companies that I pay premiums to because I was honest and my honesty was used as an escape for them to deny my claim. My kids may not be perfect, they may have even broken the law. They may not dress as I dress, their personal preferences in every area of their lives may be far different than my own. Nonetheless, I will never turn my back on them, abandon them or love them any less. The world and our country are what we make it. Until we all learn to practice what we preach it will continue to go downhill. We are no better than the examples we set.
Simply my thoughts
Dean Butler
