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Nan DeVincent-Hayes, Ph.D
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Caesar We want
protection; we demand protection. We are Americans who have
always felt safe on our soil without worry of someone bombing us,
exploding our nuclear reactors, boarding flights with foot dynamite,
or ramming our own planes into our own buildings. But things have
changed. We have become
vulnerable..and we despise it, fear it. I love hearing
stories by our elders who tell about unlocked doors, safely walking
dark lanes after dusk, letting children out to romp without being
kidnaped, and how neighbors believed that others’ health and
welfare were as important as their own.. Now it’s hard
to find someone who doesn’t have a home security system, won’t
let their children play in their own backyard, and wouldn’t think
about walking the streets during the day, let alone at night. Making
eye contact with a stranger is a dangerous thing; going to the
bathroom alone in a public place is risky business, and picking up
hitchhikers or even riding with a stranger during an emergency is an
insane thing. Drive-by shootings are commonplace. Gosh. It’s a
scary world, so much so
that we’re pleading with our government to make our country safe
again. Our bureaucrats
say, “To do that, we have to limit potential trouble by having
citizens forfeit gun ownership, and cede our privacy so the
government knows everything about us and what our psychological
profile dictates what we’ll do. relinquishing our right to bear
arms, going through one detector after another to enter a place, and
allowing ourselves to be followed on paper, on monitors, and on the
internet, are the beginning of the end of the Constitution. Granted,
perilous times require extreme measures, but when do we cross the
line from being a free people to an oppressed one? I fret over
whether this is all a grand scheme where our government allows, such
heinous acts for the purpose of making us less unified as a country
and more unified as a one world society. Anything that will harm us
(whether real or contrived)–contaminated environment, riotous spots,
galloping lawbreakers, fiendish actions, a dissolving rich economy, a
distressed health care system and an equally plagued social security
system, poor educational
structure, questionable religious institutes, and decadence in our
moral and traditional values–forces us to turn to the government for
solace and help. Living in fear,
threats by terrorists, a worsening economy, weakening religious,
marital, and educational institutions, a loss of morals, and a loss of
individual and national rights subjugates us to the will and whim of
the government. Here’s a
thought. Let’s keep a close eye on what our government is doing,
sneaking in on us, pulling over us. And why not promote good will
among us and detente with other countries wile still protecting us and
our rights? Why not teach our children from the get-go what is and
isn’t proper; how to both be respectful and yet lead; how to
appreciate our country, be loyal to it, and yet critically
constructive about it; how to correct our faults while still retaining
our identity and sovereignty? What belongs to the people should remain
with the people, what regulations fall to the government should stay
with the government. To accomplish all this means that we as parents
must take an active role in teaching our children what rightfully ours
and what rightfully goes to Caesar. End
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