Yesterday I attempted to respond to a question I saw on Twitter yesterday – “The extreme vast majority of people I see at tea party rallies are white. Why is that?” It’s a very valid question but my tweets in reply were vague and allusive. I actually went off on a mental tangent recalling all the encounters I had with people that I felt the system had failed. It’s very difficult to explain to someone something you see going on everyday without sounding like a racist or a bigot, especially when I they find out you are a white woman living in the deep south.

I must preface this with the fact that I have lived all over the world as a military family member and I have also been in the military myself. (Perhaps I should also comment about the positive changes that being in the military will do for you, but I’ll save that for another day). I have been part of a number of very diverse cultures and communities. I am a very tolerate and patient person – except when it comes to those who “can but will not do”.

Am I angry because I am unemployed? No, I am letting God drive this bus and I am very at peace that this situation will resolve itself very soon. I am angry because I seem to be surrounded by people who don’t appreciate the job they have. Most of my experiences have been when I came in contact with someone in the food service industry. I know that it’s not a “living wage” position, it was never meant to be, but at least it’s a job.

I have walked into many a popular fast food restaurant in my area only to see that tables and floors need cleaning. I glance at the store’s rating and am not surprised to see it’s low. I’ve been to a recently opened Bojangles on a number of occasions. When the restaurant first opened it was banging, everything was fast, fresh and the order was correct. After the “store opening team” left, things started to slide. Three different times my husband stopped by to grab a chicken biscuit on his way to work. On each of those occasions, the biscuits were not ready. Cries of “eight more minutes” could be heard from the back. Eight more minutes, during the morning rush? On three separate occasions?

On a visit to another eating establishment, I had difficulties receiving the correct change from my order. I tried to be gentle and patient, but the girl was treating me like it was my fault that she could not count change.

I can’t let all these negative experiences go by without sharing a very positive one. I was heading out of town and my husband wanted to treat me to breakfast before I hit the road. It was 5:30 in the morning and we stopped off at our local Chik-fil-A. The outside signage wasn’t on, so we waited a few minutes for it to come on. We saw someone head to the door and the lights came on. We walked up to the door and noticed the posted hours said it didn’t open until 6:00AM, so we turned around to head back to the car. As we were walking back, a voice was yelling at us to come on in. They didn’t have to let us in, technically they were not open yet. But they did. Not only was the food hot, the service was still just as good as it was every other time we had been there.

So yes, it makes me angry that I don’t get the same service at every other fast food establishment, that Chik-fil-A offers. Why must I always be greeted with an attitude? If you are not happy working there, then quit. The attitude that the world owes you has got to go. You need to stop blaming everyone else for your problems and start looking in the mirror. That’s where the “change” has to come from.

I’m angry because too many people want the government to fix everything, when all they have to do is start with themselves. I’m angry at the government for making it so easy for so many to become dependent upon programs that were meant to be a temporary hand up. Government programs are destroying the desire and drive to do better in life. We have done our children a great disservice with the “No Child Left Behind” act – our education system is failing our children. We are more worried about the sigma of failure and holding a child back, then we are of making sure that child receives a good education. Our children are being taught that competition is bad. I have talked with teachers that have to spend more time documenting what they are doing for Federal money, than being able to prepare quality lessons. I feel bad for the girl who could not count change, the education system failed her.

I am angry because more government is not the answer. Personal responsibility and accountability is where everything needs to start at. America what has happened to that burning desire to be number one as a nation, not number one as an individual? We have a generation of “what’s in it for me whiners”. Let’s stop punishing success.

To answer the question – “The extreme vast majority of people I see at tea party rallies are white. Why is that?” – the way I see it here in the deep south, people of color here in Alabama believe that the government is still the answer, that the tea party rallies will take away the comfort of government. I have a question or two also  – “Why do some black people treat successful blacks with disdain, treating them like sell outs because the person chose to work hard and make something of himself?” and “Why is it okay for a black person to say a very distasteful word, but it becomes an uproar when I white person says that same word?”

Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today.  Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.

While I was sitting waiting to have long overdue new tires put on my car, I was trying to focus on writing a personal blog post All I Want For Christmas… It’s about wanting a benevolent benefactor for Christmas (and not a government handout). I entered into an engaging conversation with an older gentleman (and Vietnam Vet) who is absolutely enraged with what is happening to this country. Our conversation encompassed taxes, health care, social security, political “correctness”, moral values, work ethic (or the lack there of) and drew in some of the others in the waiting area. Fear about this country’s future ran through our conversations and concerns over not being able to do anything about it seemed prevalent. I left wondering, how do we harness this anger? How do we get the people who shrug their shoulders and say it’s inevitable to get up and do something about it? How do we get the moral fiber back into this country? How do we take this country back?

Today’s screenwriters really need to have a penalty flag thrown for unnecessary crudeness. Case in point: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I’ve actually seen this movie twice, once on IMAX (which is not advised for anyone prone to migraines) and once on a regular screen. There were a couple of scenes in the movie, that in my opinion, were really not necessary and actually took away from the movie’s “cuteness”. While IMDb has a list of all the “heads up” for parents in it’s Parents Guide, things like the dog mounting scenes, Wheelie, the blue radio-controlled toy monster truck on Mikaela’s leg and Devastator having “balls”.

A commenter in the IMDb review of the movie has the same sentiment that I have about the it:

As a fan of the original cartoon series, I have to say I was really disappointed they stooped the level of immature @ss-balls humor and creating new characters with low IQ’s. They could have done better.

I’m glad I’m not the only one that feels this way. This seems to be a trend in movies today, immature, lower IQ type movies. Is the problem with the screenwriters not having the talent to be creative enough not to have to resort to this type of middle school boy humor? Or did the screenwriters feel they had to dumb the movie down? If so, I’m disappointed.

I heard the most dumbfounding thing the other day. Seems there are people out there who doesn’t think it’s “fair” that we have more “stuff” than than them. My husband got into a conversation with just such a person. Even after telling this guy that we had times when we would put in over a hundred hours a week (each) to EARN the money to buy our “stuff”, this guy didn’t think it was right that we had more. He felt it was his “right” to have the same “stuff” we had, but to not have to work as hard for it.

So let’s look at what George Mason wrote:

That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

We have a constitution right to acquire and possess property and so does this guy. But that does not mean he has the right to what we have obtained. It means he has the right to get off his lazy ass and work as hard as we have so he too can acquire and possess property.

The comment also made me realize this person also has no understand of the 10th Commandment – the one about coveting. I found a comment that might be a bit easier to understand:

If you spend a lot of timing wishing for things you don’t have, you won’t be spending your time appreciating the things you do have.

I wish I would have had more time to pick this guy’s brain, I really would like to understand more of what he was thinking. Does he want everyone to be able to live off the government dole? If so I’d like him to explain to me if everyone is living off the government dole, where would the money come to support everyone? If everyone quits working, then no money would be flowing into the government that he wants to support him. Where does this guy think all the “rich people” get their money from, trees? Somebody has to be working somewhere.

God help us, this country has turned into a bunch of self-centered, screw everyone else, what’s in it for me, selfish, ignorant idiots.

Once a year I have to deal with a few rude and inconsiderate people that will block my driveway and walk across my lawn. My neighbor plays Santa for neighborhood. Granted, it’s just a few out of anywhere from 600-1000 people that will stop by to visit with Santa. Perhaps the visitors are caught up in the moment and are not thinking about the consequences of their actions, when they park where ever they find a spot. They usually have a car full of kids that are anxious to see Santa. Since it’s only once a year, I’m much more tolerant.

I mention my parking dilemma because it’s sounds like that might be the real issue going on out in San Diego. Seems there might be a few inconsiderate people that don’t think about the consequences of where they park their cars at. The local news stories that I watched last night showed the neighborhood and the house being located on a cul-de-sac. The real problem here was all the cars and how they were parking. There were legitimate concerns about EMS services not being able to make it into the cul-de-sac. And that is the issue that should have been addressed.

The San Diego County officials should have cited the parking issues but instead they brought religion into it. A code enforcement officer warned the couple in April for holding a “religious assembly” without a permit. What was going on inside private property should not have been the issue at all. It should have been all the cars on the street. Was Pastor David Jones warned about the cars? Why did religion even have to come into play?

Chandra Wallar, the county’s general manager of land use and environment, said “the county was not targeting the Joneses because they were exercising their religion, but rather it was trying to address parking and traffic issues.” Well then, don’t bring religion into it. Address the real issue. Did the enforcement officer witness the alleged 30 to 40 cars that had been complained about? Did the pastor ask his visitors to be considerate of his neighbors and maybe consider carpooling or parking outside the cul-de-sac?

Where was common courtesy and respect for other people’s property in all this? Where was the Golden Rule that I hope this pastor preached about? And why on earth did the County of San Diego have to bring religion into this? Obviously, someone did not realize that a written warning that citing “unlawful use of land,” ordering them to either “stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit,” was going to cause quite a stir. Now the County of San Diego finds itself doing some serious back-peddling.

To the County of San Diego, the world is now watching you. God is watching you.