The things that divide us...

Nothing is sacred.  No one tells the truth.  No one accomplishes anything without cheating.  Nobody needs to worry about guns because guns don't kill people.  Any person that lives in this country who isn't Christian is not a real American.  Any person who believes gun control is at the very least a topic worthy of discussion is not a real American.  Any person who believes that in the richest most powerful nation in the world no one should go without health care is not a real American.  Any person who believes that cuts to defense spending is not a real American.  Any person who believes we should ignore the obvious fact that this planet is going through a climate change is not a real American.  Any person who has ever received ANY help from the government is not a real American.  Any person who voted for Barrack Obama is not a real American.  Any person who believes that there is an obesity problem in this country is not a real American.  Any person who believes that teachers are overworked, underpaid and unappreciated is not a real American.  Any person who believes that the rich should pay their fair share is not a real American.  Any person who believes that the death penalty doesn't work but abortion should be legal is not a real American.  I think that pretty much sums up the genuine bigotry that has been flashing over Facebook for the last several months.

Lance Armstrong has admitted to doping.  The federal government has successfully torn down a man who inspired those with cancer, and raised millions to combat that disease.  The government has seen fit to spend millions tearing him down. What has been gained?  He will never spend one day in jail.  Even if he pays a fine, it will not pay back the millions spent prosecuting him.  He simply now joins the ranks of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mark McGuire.  It is too simple to say that the drugs are the reason he won those races and honest people know that.  All the other athletes who were taking drugs couldn't beat any of them.  The truth, as ugly as it is, is really simple, there is a reason they are called Performance ENHANCERS.  I don't care about them.  Personally I want all pro athletes doing and taking whatever it takes to compete and win at the highest level.  If they make millions of dollars and live high on the cheers of others then I want the biggest, strongest, fastest, and nastiest sons of bitches on the planet.  I don't care if they live long lives after they retire, for this simple reason, once they retire I don't care about them anymore.  Does that sound harsh? Not compared to people showing pictures of their assault rifles in the wake of an unspeakable tragedy.  Not compared to people who would rather call the President of the United States a nigger than even discuss changing a long overdue tax code.  When did informed debate die in America?

I'm a veteran.  I served in Iraq.  My father served in Vietnam.  My grandfather served in World War II.  I love America.  I don't believe that if you want to change things about this country that means you don't love it and you should leave.  That actually goes AGAINST everything that this country was founded on.  I think we would do well to look for what unites us instead of what divides us.

Hip, Smart and Unapologetic

What has happened to us?  Why are we so content to accept the status quo?  Why do we just allow ourselves to be spoon fed our news, opinions, and entertainment?  I mean seriously Casey Anthony was found not guilty but we're shocked that Roger Clemens walked?  What good comes from tearing down Lance Armstrong?  I don't know if he took PEDs and I don't care.  Strip the man of his Tour de France titles and you still have the fact the he beat brain, lung and testicular cancer!!!  Normally one of these is a 50/50 but all three has to be considered a death sentence.  Health care passed, and now the whole country faces the reality that citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have been living with since 2006.. yet suddenly it means the end of all things?!?  Why doesn't anyone seem to know why the power went out in D.C. over the weekend or when it will be restored??  Why is it ok for the government to force me to have car insurance and homeowners insurance but not health insurance?  Or what gives the government the authority to force me to have any insurance at all?  Why do we worry so much about children's self esteem when we live in a world that doesn't care about any of us?

Have you heard of Ryda Tha Surgeon??  Have you listened to The Thread?  Have you had the chance to taste Smokkin Hoggz?  Have you seen Dave Novin do stand up?  Have you been to a Fevah Dream show? Have you heard of The Machine Jesse Green?  Do you follow Professor Awesome on Twitter?  I am not above a few shameless plugs for my friends because I think that they are hip, smart and unapologetic.

I am only 36 and I hate the fact that I have heard myself say that things were better when I was...  what a crock of crap.  Things have never been better than now.  That's not because I am simple or super content.  It's because the past is over and tomorrow is not guaranteed.  All the great themes haven't been turned into theme parks.  There are still people to look up to granted it takes more time to find them.  We only get to take so many trips around the sun.  Cheers!!  The BBQ is on, the beer is cold, and I hope that if I don't see you soon that I see you down the road!!!  At the very least you should check out my friends, I know you won't be disappointed.

Well, if you are still reading this then you obviously have as much time on your hands as I do, and if that's the case, then you have my sympathies.

1984?

I have been insanely busy the last few months which has caused a massive drop off in my writing.  However, it has not kept me from paying attention to what's going on around me.  Over the last two months we have seen a Presidential candidate say that he would actively seek the counsel of the Catholic Church, ultimately he would like to outlaw abortion as well as contraception, and just to called the President of the United States a Nigger.  We've had an ultra conservative talk show host call a female college student a slut.  We have a seen an ultra liberal talk show host donate a million dollars to a Super PAC.  We have seen a Hispanic neighborhood watchman shoot and kill an unarmed black teenager in Miami.  We have seen the true state of race relations in this country flood social media.  We have seen main stream media stop reporting the events of the day and start dictating the coming day's events.  We have seen our elected leaders ignore the public they purport to serve (nothing new!) and serve their own self interest.  How else can you explain why members of congress were ever allowed to buy or sell stocks in companies based on insider information that everyone of us would get sent to prison for?  We have seen a "moderate" Republican rise from the ranks to challenge the first black President.  We have seen gas prices rise.  We have seen unemployment "fall".  We have seen celebrities prove why they should never have any influence over anyone because they lack even basic common sense.  We have seen modern day lynch mobs rise up to crush anyone who says anything controversial.  We have seen our legal system become a poll driven entity.  We have seen record temperatures.  We have seen a documentary about a vicious regime called into question because of the "insanity" of its director.  We have seen the Red Sox get off to their worst start ever (AGAIN!!).  We have seen the Titanic in 3D (Spoiler Alert: IT STILL SINKS AND LEO DIES!!!)  We have witnessed LIN-SANITY.  We have seen Tebowmania come to New York (Even though the Jets play in Jersey).  We have seen the Occupy movement basically die.

Are we so numb that none this makes us sad, nervous or even angry?  I see posts constantly about the Constitution but I don't think the posters do anything more than repost it.  Why is it that people who disagree with liberals are idiot sexist racists and people who disagree with conservatives are godless heathen whore terrorists?  If you aren't capable of accepting that other people have the right to their opinion and they don't have to listen yours then it's really sad.  It's sad because you don't have to listen to them either.  I bring this up because I served in the U.S. Marine Corps and now I am a middle school teacher and I am deeply troubled by the lack of even the most basic form of civility I see from the media, the government, and especially the average citizen. This country holds itself up as an example to the world yet I don't think people see the example they are setting.  Picketing the funerals of soldiers, ignoring the epidemic of gun violence until it goes interracial, actively discriminating against gay people, pretending that a man or the government should have any say in what a woman does with her body (like any man would tolerate being told what to do with theirs?) I say these things because I love this country, I was willing to die for it, I was willing to kill for it, and I currently try to educate the next generation (including my own son).  We can't continue this march we are on towards fanaticism.  If we do then our society will follow that path to its inevitable end, extinction.

Well, if you are still reading this then you must have as much time on your hands as I do and if that's the case, then you have my sympathies.

Shaking my head

We live in the most dangerous time this country has scene since the McCarthy era.  I love technology and instant access to everything, but there has been a really unfortunate side effect.  Reality TV, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter have eroded what we want to see in our news, our entertainment and ourselves to the lowest common denominator.  How else can you explain the appeal of a hate-mongering bigoted demagogue like Rick Santorum being a front runner for the Republican Nomination for President of the Union States.  This guy is so bat shit crazy that he compares homosexuality to beastiality and actually wants to give the Pope a cabinet post?!?! The Pope?!?! The same guy who swore up and down that child sexual abuse by priests never happened in Europe?!?!  Is Jerry Sandusky gonna be up for the Secretary of the Interior in your administration Rick?!? After all he's from Pennsylvania?!?! Santorum is every bit as scary as Adolph Hitler should have been in 1930's Germany.  I don't claim to be smart enough to run for office, but I know enough about our government to know that we absolutely can't turn the keys of the most powerful nation on Earth over to someone who has no idea what the Constitution actually says.  I love to drink beer.  I mean I really love to drink beer.  It doesn't matter to me if it's Natural Ice, PBR or Samuel Adams, but I'm not looking to elect someone because it'd be cool to share a beer with.  That's an absolutely idiotic way to pick a leader.  It's a miracle that Paulie D and the Situation aren't the Senators from New Jersey!!!  Wait...  are they?!?

We live in a world where Barrack Obama spent 650 million dollars to win a $400,000 a year job?!?!  We live in a world where liberals from the Northeast want to know how George W. Bush got elected twice but have re-elected Tom Menino five times?!!?! We live in a world where the teacher's union is the root cause of all the ills in our society but the corrupt as sin politicians and bankers who screwed us all are given a free pass?!?!  The Dow Jones is 10,000 points higher than when Bill Clinton took office but we're in the worst recession since the Depression?!?!  We live in a world where talent and intelligence are subjugated by mediocrity and stupidity, how else can you explain why anyone knows Kim Kardashian's name?!?!  Bruce Jenner won a gold medal in the Olympics and her father was a legal wizard, she is a fame grubbing publicity whore?!?!  Teen Mom?!?!  Really?!?!  How in the hell can you call that entertainment?!?!  How in the hell can WWE's ratings be down?!?  Ex wrestlers drop dead of drug overdoses all the time.  One even killed his wife and autistic son and then hanged himself on his Nautilus?!?!  Seems like MTV and E should be camped outside 24/7?!?!  Charlie Sheen played himself on Two and a Half Men for eight years and got fired?!?! Seems like he'd be the perfect new housemate on Jersey Shore?!?!  Who the Hell is running ESPN?!?! There are like 1.6 billion Asians on this planet and your ignorant asses want to racially profile the only one who plays in the NBA?!?!  Is anyone actually surprised that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has anger management issues and beat up his ex?!?!  If The Walking Dead is a reflection of the human condition than we should all just shoot ourselves now or hope to get bit first when the zombies take over!!!  Why did the Federal Government prosecute Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens for perjury and just let the banking industry walk?!?!  Does any actually care if they did steroids?!? For that matter why are the sports writers such disgusting fat asses?!?!  Why do they get to decide who gets into the Halls of Fame?!?!  Wasn't there a less qualified group of people we could find?!?!  Am I the only person who gets angry when some jerkoff won't stand up or take his hat off when the National Anthem is played?!?!  Why is that we don't want the best and brightest to defend us or teach our children or lead us?!?!  How often have you heard the following: You are too smart and talented to join the military, be a teacher or go into politics, besides there's no money in it!!!  Yet we wonder why we get attacked, our schools fail, and our leaders are frauds!!!!

Well if you are still reading this then you obviously have as much time on your hands as I do, and if that's the case then you have my sympathies.

So... what if???

How is it even possible that I haven't updated this blog since last summer?  Well, that needs to be rectified.  So...  for your utter bemusement and possible bewilderment here are some questions that have been on my mind:

What if I'd stayed in the Marine Corps?  What if Lost had tried to go one more season?  What if Sarah Palin had actually run for President?  What if the Bruins had continued their early season skid?  What if the economy actually gets worse?  What if Ted actually meets the mother?  What if Rob Gronkowski was cast on Jersey Shore?  What if John Cena actually turns heel?  What if my brakes had failed that morning?  What if all the students became the teachers and the teachers became the students?  What if people actually read this blog?  What if I had fired my weapon in combat?  What if the world really does end December 2012? What if my students actually listened to themselves?  What if we woke up tomorrow and switched genders?  What if we woke up tomorrow and all looked the same?  What if the Smokin Hoggz sell their sauce?  What if that handsome quartet of geekdom go global?  What if we realized that money and credit are social constructs and we could just as easily exist without them?  What if true happiness were truly attainable?  What if we all just decided to change the world?  What if the NBA ever starts playing again? (What do you mean they already have?!?!?!)  What if people paid as much attention to what our leaders say and do as they to the Kardashian whores? What if people actually understood what the government can and cannot do?  What if we legalized marijuana?  What if we granted amnesty to all the illegal immigrants?  What if we just nuked Iran?  What if Iran just nuked Israel?  What if Suff thought about things before he speaks?(Please don't cuz I love that you are splendidly ignorant)  What if Scott didn't think the way he does?  What if I run out of questions???

Well, if you're still reading this then you probably have as much time on your hands as I do and if that's the case, then you have my sympathies.

Coming Home

When I was seventeen I joined a cult.  Do I have your attention?  Yes?  Good.  I didn't join a cult, I joined the Order of DeMolay.  Why?  I was bored.  I had a car and no where to go.  I was in high school and while I wasn't unpopular, I had no real social life.  What I found was way more.  If you had told me in February 1993 that this would be a defining event in my life I would have told you that you were insane.  My senior year was ahead of me.  College was ahead of me.  Football was my whole life.  DeMolay was at that time an outlet, nothing less and nothing more.  I didn't know that in less than a year everything I thought I knew about life would change and that DeMolay would become the one thing that I would care the most about.  I learned so much about myself in this group.  I learned to harness my ambitions.  I learned to speak in public.  I learned to respect those different from me.  These are all great things.  I also learned how to be arrogant, a bit self absorbed, and to manipulate my peers.  I don't say this as a detraction of DeMolay.  If anything the sense of belonging it provided me simply amplified the other things.

The last few years have been the most exciting and the most trying of my life.  I have a beautiful and amazing wife.  I have a beautiful little boy who lights up my life.  I have been blessed more than I deserve.  Three years ago, I went back to my roots.  As wonderful as things have been, I was missing a part of myself.  Recently, I have started to feel whole again as old friendships have been renewed.  It's never been easy for me to admit that I need help.  Recently I was reminded of a simple truth...  nobody can help you if they don't know you need it.  In a round about way this is also a thank you note to Rick, John, Shawn, Mike and Brian.  You really are among the finest men I will ever know.

I would be remiss talking about DeMolay without mentioning a few really special people who mean(t) everything to me.  Fred K. Bauer, you had a heart of pure gold and a quiet dignity about you that I truly respected.  I miss you everyday.  Chris Sylvia, I was your wingman and deputy but you were my brother and friend and I hope someday we might find that common ground promised in the retirement song.  Paul Weston, all I can say to you is "Talk to me Goose." It doesn't matter if hours or years pass between our conversations it always feel like it's only been a few minutes.

Well, if you are still reading this then you obviously have as much time on your hands as I do and if that's the case then you have my sympathies.

Long Overdue

I believe that when a person goes through a traumatic experience that they either remember every single detail about it and constantly re-experience it or attempt to block it out until the memory resurfaces.  I've battled with my own experience for the last eight years.  I've tried to explain it to my friends with limited or no success.  They either don't or can't understand because they weren't there.  And even though I don't doubt that they care, I know that many of my closest friends haven't really been listening because they are dealing with their own traumas which I completely understand.  We only know our own pain and it's hard to cope with anything outside our own fragile sensibilities.  I've tried counseling but that has limits. The truth is that there is a story to be told.  Once it is told in its entirety, then I hope that I will finally be free of it.

The Misguided Children is my story.  It is both epic and fragile at the same time.  It is comedic, dramatic, tragic, and at times ironic.  I have experienced terror and fear, and great joy and courage.  I don't expect everyone who reads it to understand it.  I don't even expect everyone who reads it to believe it.  I'm not even sure that I believe it all even though it is all true.  It is a work in progress as am I.  If you have been a fan of this blog then I hope you will give it a read.  If you have been bored by my incessant rambling here, then maybe you will like a more structured story.  As I said this is my story, and while I'm not sure if it's anything that anyone will actually want to read, I am absolutely certain that it is one I need to tell.

http://themisguidedchildren.blogspot.com/