Last edited Fri May 14, 2021, 02:35 PM - Edit history (1)
DISPLACED HONOR
By Al Garcia
When I was growing up, one of the first things I was taught by my parents, was to be honest, trustworthy, truthful and respectful of others. And from childhood through my youth and into adulthood, I lived by those edicts.
As I child I learned to stay away from bullies and toughs who sought to intimidate and harass me because of my age or stature, through words or even physical taunts. I chose my friends and acquaintances even as a child, carefully and wisely.
As I got older and a bit more sophisticated, and as I became aware of the social strata of high school life, I also became more cognizant and sensitive of those around me. By that age, personality traits and behaviors have started to set in. And once again, I chose my friends and my acquaintances carefully. Already cliques and gangs and bands and packs of girls and boys my age had been formed and well established. There were the whites, the Mexicans, the mixes, the cheerleaders, the jocks, the nerds, and those that just didn’t fit anywhere. We each went into our respective groups, avoiding the intimidate, harassment or even bullying of others not of our ilk. And again, many of us looked back to our upbringing and our nurturing to help us decide who to befriend and who to avoid.
My adult life was no different. Whether in my private or social life, or in my work, I gravitated toward people who fostered the fundamental edicts of my childhood and my youth -- honesty, trustworthiness, truthfulness, and respectfulness of others, because their traits complimented my own upbringing, and they made me try to be the best that I could be, and they made be feel good about myself.
Today, I am in a state of utter dismay and disillusionment. Why, I ask myself, would anyone select as a friend, a mentor, a leader or a person to admire or respect -- someone who has a reputation as a fraudster and con man, is habitually lying, has no moral or ethical standards, and is disdainful and derisive? Why would anyone gravitate toward such a morally bankrupt person, and hold them up as a reflection or a representative of their own morals, ethics, beliefs or principles? These questions baffle and confound my mind and my thoughts.
Even as a child I knew who to befriend and who to avoid, and the reasons why. And as a young person, I selected my friends, acquaintances and pals carefully, ensuring there was some shared commonality. And by the time I became an adult, my network of acquaintances, contacts, colleagues, associates and companions, was well-established and secured. They all made me feel safe, respected and appreciated. And I trusted them and their participation and involvement in my life, because they inspired me and motivated me, each in his or her own way.
But, to have witness the daily disparagements, lies, misinformation, disinformation, arrogance and illiteracy, displayed on a daily basis not long ago (and continuing) by a man whose apathy is only surpassed by his idiocy, leaves me flabbergasted as to why he would have a third or more of the population of the United States holding him up on a pedestal, as a symbol of their own mental prowess and agility.
It is astounding to believe that there are so many people who identify themselves, with all their heart and mind, with the man who, in his simple and “special” mind, believes himself to be a king, with absolute and unquestioned power and authority.
It saddens me to realize that it took one dangerous and delusional man to expose the dark and sinister underbelly of our hidden American nightmare – fellow citizens who had camouflaged themselves with the American flag and Christian values.
For when repression, oppression, despotism and tyranny come to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.
What ever happened to the nurturing and the guidance of our childhoods and our youth? What ever happened to common sense and common decency? What ever happened to honor? Why now, the displaced honor?
= new reply since forum marked as read
