Honor and Respect – Part 2 of 2

from WRDW

Yes, I am a proud mother today. We must be careful when we choose our battles as in when speaking up about something or when some injustice we feel is taking place. We must understand the consequences and know that there will always be someone with a different viewpoint. We must know what to say and how exactly to say it. I try to see things from more than one side but I still have my own opinions. Good and moral values are something I would think most people would want for their children, but the way of the world is quickly turning another way. It is not a secret that I am not a fan of FB—I cannot even write the name anymore. I guess this story tells just why I do not like it. If you have not read the first posting, please stop now and read Honor and Respect – Part 1 first.

During the funeral procession Thursday, a FB friend of my daughters (plural-a girl they went to high school with) was not just complaining about the traffic–that it was only one officer and that he was not even on duty when he was shot–she did not see the sense in all of the cars and all. She just wanted to get to class so she could get “some knowledge.” I guess she has had her ears plugged into something other than the news of any form for the past several days and did not hear all of the announcements about the funeral route. My daughters commented that he died in the line of duty whether he was on the clock or not and the funeral was to show him respect-much more eloquent words than I can give here. I guess that hit a nerve with her and she began to attack my daughters. It was nasty.

Given my previous posting and all of what we have been going through, my daughters were hurt when she started saying these things and accusing them of things. She also accused the law enforcement community of making a big deal of the processional because they wanted more money for all of their “stations” and that no one seemed to care about a woman who was murdered a few weeks ago. Yes, and I have some lovely beachfront property I would like to sell…     What hurt the most was how many people liked what this FB friend was saying and urging her to attack my daughters and the police even more-it was like a gang type thing going on. I wanted to know why she was considered a friend and then proceeded to dig into some of her info. Number one, she was arrested earlier this year for shoplifting (not local). If I had to guess from the info, it was with a ring of girls—just guessing here. She seems to have also developed a very close relationship with the cannabis plant I mentioned back a couple of posts ago. In essence, she is part of the element that law enforcement officers have to deal with on a daily basis. Oh, and she has over a 1000 friends on FB if that says anything.

I am proud of my daughters not because that they spoke up but for what they had to say and how they said it. We had some very nice discussions, too. We talked about how hard it is to stand up for something when you sometimes feel that you are standing alone. We discussed how many people may follow blindly behind someone but it does not make that person any more right. And, we talked about how people listen to the loudest person shouting but that doesn’t mean they are right either. So very many people, especially younger adults, have absolutely no respect for anyone but themselves-that me-me-me attitude. And, people who do not know any better teach others to not have respect. It is much like what I used to say many years ago – ignorance breeds stupidity. That is the scary part considering the fate of the world. Maybe if people had more respect for others, JD would still be alive today. By the way, on further investigation into what really preceded JD’s murder, the woman with the shooter seems to have played a bigger part than first thought-not that she fired the rifle-but that she was responsible for the fight and did some things that have shown how truly selfish she is. I think the shooter could not deal with her, but this is only guessing. He is still responsible for his actions.

So, while the pages where HONOR and RESPECT have been torn out of the dictionary, I am glad that there are still people are trying to tape them back in. That brings a little peace to my soul and I cannot express how proud I am. Teaching a child to ride a bike is not easy sometimes. You constantly go over the basics and work through it with them until finally you are walking along with them holding on and then off they go riding away with no help. Yes, I am a proud mom today. Doing the right thing is not always easy, but it is what we are called to do.

Happy Gardening and may we learn to show respect to others even when we think they do not deserve it!

My apologies for bogging down. I have to get through this and it is not easy. Thank you for all for your thoughts and prayers. We will get through it. It will just take time. Take care!

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