WARREN GRANT: None so blind as he who will not see the problem

What happened? What went wrong? “Yes sir, no sir, yes ma’am, no ma’am, please, thank you, may I help you?” What the hell happened? It seemed like it was just yesterday that everyone was so pleasant, easygoing, easy to get along with, and all of a sudden, boom, it’s gone. Why?

People firing shots across the bow of anyone and everyone, with or without a reason. Name-calling, accusations, real or false, hatred permeating the air, caustic and or venomous remarks about someone with or without facts, as those, the ones who are doing it, are right and the ones that the poison arrow is aimed at deserves it. Thus, giving the indication that they, the ones who are being aggressive, are perfect and have no faults.

This behavioral pattern is accelerating at a phenomenal rate equal to, “warp speed,” if you will. Take no prisoners, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead, and don’t worry about collateral damage. Society is on a downhill track like a runaway train with no brakes and the bridge is out. How long will it be before we start killing each other? Wait! Isn’t that pretty much what’s going on now? Does the name Kent State ring a bell?

This is not a governmental problem. It’s a human problem. More correctly, it’s a parental problem. It appears to me this is about a third-generation issue, since three generations ago, it wasn’t like this. What will the world be like in three more generations, as there appears to be no intention or indication of a correction? Parents are acting like spoiled brats, and their kids pick up on this. Parents are not disciplining their children. Nobody wants to hurt little Timmy’s feelings, when he needs to be severely corrected.

I waited in line to purchase some items and witnessed a little child in front of me opening candy and eating it. His mother turned around and saw what he was doing. Instead of teaching the kid that what he was doing was wrong, she said to him, “You better not get caught or let anyone see you.” She never paid for the candy and, what do you think the lesson was that the child learned? How long before he’s on the streets with a gun?

And to further up the ante of disrespect running the streets, using language that I under no circumstances would dare have said in from of my grandmother or mother, came Nixon and the actions of drafting young people into the military. I’ve never had anyone who has served in the military tell me that they were not a better person for serving. Bring back the draft would be a good start in the right direction.

There were times, at first, when people were embarrassed to take food stamps or government assistance. Not so, now. It has become almost a badge of honor, sort of like, I know how to beat the system and get what I don’t deserve or haven’t worked for. It’s a joke, and the joke is on you and me because we are the ones paying for it. But wait, if someone starts giving you several hundred dollars a month for doing nothing, why should you stop? I can’t imagine seeing what the last man/woman standing will look like? And when you have everything, what is your next goal, to jump through piles of gold and money like Scrooge McDuck?

What happened or went wrong, and what will it take to stop the train and fix the bridge? I’m betting the train is just going to pick up speed even as it goes over the edge; everyone will be yelling, “Somebody do something!” But no one will admit to being part of the problem as they don’t see a problem. And that’s the problem.