A Dark Night Rises

Where’s Batman when you really need him? The shooting at The Dark Knight Rises premiere in Aurora, Colorado was a reminder that those types of heroes don’t really exist. I wish they did. They buck the system; come in to save the day by doing what is right and what is necessary. Batman would’ve come in, dodged the raining bullets, punched the shooter in the mouth a few times, broke an arm, and then tied him up for the police. Problem solved. Sometimes I wonder what I’d do in that situation. Part of me envisions myself dodging the raining bullets, subduing the maniac, and saving the day. Don’t know if it would go that way since most everyone is bigger than me, and I haven’t been in a physical altercation since high school when I punched my little brother in the mug for breaking my silver neck chain. In reality, I think I’d hit the ground, cover my loved ones as best I could, and start praying. Think about it. This crazy person planned it out enough to wear a gas mask, wear a bulletproof vest, and use an automatic weapon. What could someone trying to save the day do? There just isn’t much you could do. But my mind quickly drifts to society. This stuff nearly happens on a daily basis now. Living outside Detroit, you hear of all kinds of things that happen at movie theatres, gas stations, in people’s homes, and even at churches. I mean, even pastors are being attacked Pardon the pun, but in America, a dark night rises. And it’s been rising for a long time. The natural reaction is to fix the rising problem. In America, that means we treat the symptoms instead of finding a cure. So in this case, government officials will start talking gun control. We’ll start to see security/police in every movie theatre. Some theatres are already banning all masks and costumes for movies. We’ll install metal detection devices at the doors of every public building. It’s probably happening as we speak. We’ll become a police state. They’ll say due to the changes and protection that we’ll be free, but freedom will be long gone. Heck, society is long gone already. I know how to fix this. It’s not hard. It’s not expensive. And it’s controversial because of it. We just have to shift how we think. Almost like going back in time. Find religion. Find God. Put the 10 Commandments back on the wall of our schools. Allow prayer back in our schools and public places. (I can guarantee most of those people in the movie theatre last night were praying as this tragedy was unfolding.) Get back to church more than twice a year. Choose loyalty, honesty and integrity over money, wealth and status. Already some readers are saying you can’t do this. You don’t have to look at the 10 Commandments if you don’t want to. You don’t have to pray if you want to. Others will inevitably say the following: Separation of Church and State…. Bunk. Things started to get away from us in 1948 and in the 1960’s when our Supreme Court ruled against school prayer. In the 80’s we started taking the 10 commandments off the walls of schools and public buildings. All in the name of a phrase that doesn’t exist in the Constitution. In fact, in a 1958 New York Supreme Court case, a dissenting judge said the following, ““If the court does not stop talking about the separation of church and state, people are going to start thinking it is part of the Constitution.” A noted psychologist, Dr. William James, often referred to the father of Modern Psychology, said "There is nothing so absurd but if you repeat it often enough people will believe it." Better yet, the notorious Adolf Hitler said “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” He also said, “All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach.” It’s been said it takes one to three generations to effect social change. We’re about 3 generations from those days and well, look where we are. It didn’t take long to shift our way of thinking. And now, much of what we see today is the result of that thinking. We see a culture with no conscience. We see a culture which now lacks respect for women, children, and the elderly. The only respect that seems to matter to people now is the respect that they demand selfishly. How can America live for so long by holding a fear of God and then go the complete opposite direction expecting to do better? We became the greatest nation on the face of the earth because of freedoms that allowed us to have a reverence of God, respect for each other and our nation. To use a Dark Knight quote, “The night is always the darkest before the dawn.” I pray we’re at our darkest moment, and that a new day is dawning. It’s been a dark night long enough.

I Wish

I wish

I wish I had a platform.

I wish I had a platform, not just because I’m short and would feel taller.

I wish I had a platform because I would hope I could help bring some sanity to this world.

I wish I had a Star Trek Teleporter, so I could Teleport to wherever insanity was taking place. And I wish I could make like Jiminy Cricket and be that voice of reason on people’s shoulders.

I wish I didn’t have to read about shootings in schools. Is there anywhere safe these days?

I wish I didn’t have to worry about my boys starting school in the next 12-18 months and all the lunatics that exist.

I mean, yeah, shooting innocent unsuspecting people teaches someone a lesson. It’s a mad world. It’s a sad world.

I wish I was raising my boys in a world like I had, or like my parents had.

I wish they could walk to school without me or my wife, and not have to worry about who was lurking.

I wish I didn’t have to do a background check on the parents, families, teachers and coaches my sons will have over the next 14 years.

I wish every child had a mommy and a daddy in the home.

I wish I could be wherever children are being hurt by adults, and somehow find a better home for the children. Every child deserves a chance to have a chance.

I wish I didn’t have to start thinking about how to tell my 3 and 4 year old boys that if anyone “touches” them, they need to tell mommy and daddy.

I wish I didn’t have to think about thinking about that.

I wish I could be the judge and jury AND enforcer for people who do hurt children.

I wish there was a way to punish those people who take the lives of other people, and then take their own.

I wish I could go back in time and tell the writers of the Constitution and our laws to be future minded and close as many loopholes as possible so that the intent wouldn’t be so abused these days.

I wish people would take the common sense approach to life and the Consitution.

I wish we didn’t have to talk about gun regulation. We have the right to bear arms. Problem is, idiots have the same right.

The right to bear arms was put there so the government couldn’t confiscate weapons, and so people could protect themselves from danger…and back then, even the government.

And what is gun regulation? The government controlling guns… See where this going?
I wish people really understood freedom.

Freedom isn’t the right to do wrong. Freedom is the right to be wrong.

I wish freedom of speech wasn’t so abused. Honestly. It’s not the right to say whatever you want. It’s the right to not have the government tell you what you can say.

And by misinterpreting that, we now have the government telling us what we can and can’t say.

I wish that anything spoken contrary to a person’s opinion wasn’t considered inflammatory or hateful.

I wish everything wasn’t about money. You name it, somehow money effects it.

I wish greed wasn’t good.

I wish our judicial system worked. I mean, not everyone is “a good kid who wouldn’t hurt anybody.” And I understand reasonable doubt, but in a morally and ethically challenged society, isn’t reasonable doubt abused? People deserve the right to a fair trial, but fair doesn’t mean getting off with little or no punishment.

I wish people would understand that whether they are Christian or not, our way of life was founded on those principles and as those principles have eroded, so has our way of life.

I understand that we are a land of many religions these days, but there used to be an “American Way.” It wasn’t perfect. But you surely didn’t have the chaos of today’s society.

If everyone is right, how can there by wrong? It’s simple. Not everyone is right, but we’ve been telling people for a few decades now that they are.

I wish people understood that sometimes what’s right for me IS right for you.

I wish we would realize that the freedom of religion doesn’t mean freedom from religion. It was meant to keep the government from telling us who or what to worship.

And by misinterpreting, we now have the government saying who, what, where, when and how to worship.

I wish people understood that the separation of Church and state wasn’t intended to keep church out of the state. It was meant to keep the state out of the church. (See freedom of religion wish)

I wish our country still had a fear of God. And by that I mean a respect for. God’s not out to get us.

Yeah, I believe in Him, and I know a lot of people don’t. I know many have other faiths. For anyone that doesn’t want to worship God, or any god. Don’t. You have the right not to worship. And nobody is making you. Chill out. Relax.

But it’s plain to see, that this country was better off when there was a stronger fear of God.

It gave us a backbone. It gave us a moral compass. It provided safety and comfort. It provided strength. It provided guidance.

Look at our world and tell me you don’t wish we had more of those things.

I Wish

I wish

I wish I had a platform.

I wish I had a platform, not just because I’m short and would feel taller.

I wish I had a platform because I would hope I could help bring some sanity to this world.

I wish I had a Star Trek Teleporter, so I could Teleport to wherever insanity was taking place. And I wish I could make like Jiminy Cricket and be that voice of reason on people’s shoulders.

I wish I didn’t have to read about shootings in schools. Is there anywhere safe these days?

I wish I didn’t have to worry about my boys starting school in the next 12-18 months and all the lunatics that exist.

I mean, yeah, shooting innocent unsuspecting people teaches someone a lesson. It’s a mad world. It’s a sad world.

I wish I was raising my boys in a world like I had, or like my parents had.

I wish they could walk to school without me or my wife, and not have to worry about who was lurking.

I wish I didn’t have to do a background check on the parents, families, teachers and coaches my sons will have over the next 14 years.

I wish every child had a mommy and a daddy in the home.

I wish I could be wherever children are being hurt by adults, and somehow find a better home for the children. Every child deserves a chance to have a chance.

I wish I didn’t have to start thinking about how to tell my 3 and 4 year old boys that if anyone “touches” them, they need to tell mommy and daddy.

I wish I didn’t have to think about thinking about that.

I wish I could be the judge and jury AND enforcer for people who do hurt children.

I wish there was a way to punish those people who take the lives of other people, and then take their own.

I wish I could go back in time and tell the writers of the Constitution and our laws to be future minded and close as many loopholes as possible so that the intent wouldn’t be so abused these days.

I wish people would take the common sense approach to life and the Consitution.

I wish we didn’t have to talk about gun regulation. We have the right to bear arms. Problem is, idiots have the same right.

The right to bear arms was put there so the government couldn’t confiscate weapons, and so people could protect themselves from danger…and back then, even the government.

And what is gun regulation? The government controlling guns… See where this going?
I wish people really understood freedom.

Freedom isn’t the right to do wrong. Freedom is the right to be wrong.

I wish freedom of speech wasn’t so abused. Honestly. It’s not the right to say whatever you want. It’s the right to not have the government tell you what you can say.

And by misinterpreting that, we now have the government telling us what we can and can’t say.

I wish that anything spoken contrary to a person’s opinion wasn’t considered inflammatory or hateful.

I wish everything wasn’t about money. You name it, somehow money effects it.

I wish greed wasn’t good.

I wish our judicial system worked. I mean, not everyone is “a good kid who wouldn’t hurt anybody.” And I understand reasonable doubt, but in a morally and ethically challenged society, isn’t reasonable doubt abused? People deserve the right to a fair trial, but fair doesn’t mean getting off with little or no punishment.

I wish people would understand that whether they are Christian or not, our way of life was founded on those principles and as those principles have eroded, so has our way of life.

I understand that we are a land of many religions these days, but there used to be an “American Way.” It wasn’t perfect. But you surely didn’t have the chaos of today’s society.

If everyone is right, how can there by wrong? It’s simple. Not everyone is right, but we’ve been telling people for a few decades now that they are.

I wish people understood that sometimes what’s right for me IS right for you.

I wish we would realize that the freedom of religion doesn’t mean freedom from religion. It was meant to keep the government from telling us who or what to worship.

And by misinterpreting, we now have the government saying who, what, where, when and how to worship.

I wish people understood that the separation of Church and state wasn’t intended to keep church out of the state. It was meant to keep the state out of the church. (See freedom of religion wish)

I wish our country still had a fear of God. And by that I mean a respect for. God’s not out to get us.

Yeah, I believe in Him, and I know a lot of people don’t. I know many have other faiths. For anyone that doesn’t want to worship God, or any god. Don’t. You have the right not to worship. And nobody is making you. Chill out. Relax.

But it’s plain to see, that this country was better off when there was a stronger fear of God.

It gave us a backbone. It gave us a moral compass. It provided safety and comfort. It provided strength. It provided guidance.

Look at our world and tell me you don’t wish we had more of those things.