We Lost Our Way
By Louis Petrone
We lost our way. I am not telling you anything you do not know. Our values have changed. We are in a downward spiral.
Examples are rampant.
Hitting us in the eye constantly these days is the police/black problem. Actually, a police v. citizens problem regardless of color. Police historically served to protect the people. Today, they are the enemy. The police concern is for their personal safety first. Not those they are sworn to protect.
Shootings aside, a more obvious example is what occurred recently in Tampa. A detective on a robbery call was driving an unmarked vehicle. He hit a pedestrian, Did not stop nor report the incident to his superiors. The pedestrian was decapitated.
It took almost ten days for his superiors to determine he might be the bad guy. The dead man’s blood was the same as the droplets of blood on the police vehicle. They still have not arrested him.
Authorities tend to whitewash police incidents.
Secret Service and other federal officials party with prostitutes in foreign countries. The services of the ladies generally paid for by drug cartel persons.
The recent Charleston shootings bring to our attention an FBI foul up.
The FBI is purportedly the best of the best. The FBI did the check up of the killer when he sought to buy the gun. An error was committed in the Charleston killer’s case. The FBI failed to disclose all details of the young man’s criminal record. A proper disclosure would have resulted in a rejection of the gun sale. The gun used to kill the nine people.
Court decisions in most instances have gone from bad to worse. People have lost faith in the judicial process. Especially United States Supreme Court decisions. We have been plagued in recent years by bad decisions. An example being Citizens United which opened the door to permitting corporations and the rich to make unlimited contributions to political candidates.
Money buys elections. Congress a perfect example. Even Presidents to an extent. Politicians are influenced by those who contribute large sums to them.
Politicians lie to us. Even a President of the United States. Bush 2 and weapons of mass destruction.
Computer hacking now a way of life. Especially government and corporate records. Just last week, it was announced that the 4 million turned out to be 21 million persons who had their personnel files held by the government hacked. Congress fails to allocate enough monies to keep security systems up to date. Corporate America fails to do so also. Money spent on security takes away from profit.
Hatred and bad blood permeate our society. People do not differ merely from thoughtful political perspectives. Their differences are driven by a hatred for the other side.
There was a time we fought wars to win them. No longer. Now wars seem to be fought merely to maintain the status quo.
God has become a part of our political back and forth. Church leaders have become participants re public issues before the media. They spend more time in public view than in their pulpits. The clerics pursue dogma and policies that do not fly with Church members. Following which the clerics wonder why their churches are empty.
Unions were once strong. Over the years, they have been crippled. Cut off at the knees.Starting with Reagan’s handling of the air comptrollers. The unions had become too strong and needed to be cut down to size. However not so much that they could become extinct.
Unions are a necessary ingredient when it comes to workers’ rights. Corporations are not going to worry about the welfare of their employees. Profit is their concern. Unions must be revitalized to keep employers honest in employee dealings. Do not expect employers to police themselves.
We read about the Greeks not paying taxes. We have the same problem right here in the United States. Trillions of dollars of corporate profit and the profits of the rich sit untaxed in off shore accounts. The corporations and rich not paying their fair share.
We like to think the United States is a God fearing nation. The good book says we are our brother’s keeper. How does that line up with a Republican party that wants to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
I could go on and on. The point has been made.
Some will disagree with my observations. Some a few, some many. The examples are everyday realities, however. They hit us right in the face. They cannot be denied. As long as we are willing to see that which is. And not what we want to see.
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Dear Lou,
You suffer from what many of us older Americans suffer from. A memory! It’s an older persons affliction remembering how things once operated and how people and politicians once behaved. Young people do not have this perspective on the current wacky matrix we live in, so it’s up to old farts like us to expose the emperor’s nakedness. Keep up the good work! Thanks
Lou, Alex said it right. You suffer what all of us older adults suffer from – a memory of THEN. Law enforcement was our friend, our protector. We taught our children that if anything goes wrong, find a policeman. He will protect you and get you home to us. We valued the Constitution. Now, it seems so many are trying to turn the Bible into our Constitution. And unless we are blind, deaf and illiterate, also, we know how much the Republican Party – that party that claims to be direct from God above – is trying to destroy us below the level of millionaire. Where will it stop? I have no idea unless we get someone like Bernie Sanders who has fought for us his entire adult life in the White House and the good Republicans out there decide they’ve had enough and vote out everyone who even smells like a Tea Party Republican and bring back the party of Lincoln. Thank you for all you do to enlighten us!
LOU,
you scared me for minute. When the Article first started out I thought you was going to take the mess in Key West. If you ever decide to it could probably make up several Articles.