“In the long run your own character makes or breaks you. This is true of the individual, of a nation, of a party, or of any institution.”
Emmet Fox
He sat looking out the window of his ol’ house at the rain pouring down on the same street he played on growing up on. He couldn’t help but question the science of global warming after 30 consecutive summer days of rain and chilly weather. August was nearing it’s end and the Kenai Peninsula hadn’t seen a warm day since June, albeit May and June were nice enough to make up for any lack of sunshine. But, it seemed the rest of the world was burning up and the powers to be, insisted it was due to the carbon emissions from the industrialized world the earth had become. That, and apparently cow farts. Since he was a small child, the amount of noticeable pollution in the air, water and on the land had decreased significantly in the United States, but, according to those with knowledge, the “chosen”, not nearly enough. They say even if we were to completely stop our emissions today, it’s probably already too late. The answer of course being to definitely put millions of people through misery in order to hopefully keep millions of people from misery. That seemed to be their answer to almost anything. Put millions in distress, just in case we can make things better by forgetting everything we’ve already learned and experienced. He pondered why the communist countries which were the worst violators of the environmental efforts, were exempt from such social and economical penalties. But, he was just a simple man without the knowledge and insight of the “chosen”.
Global warming was just one of the many catastrophes that plagued the world today. Suddenly there were virus’ that mankind could not handle. There was racism that we thought we had finally overcome, but were now discovering it was worse than ever. There were women that should be men and men that should be women and “chosen” adults that would decide for, or convince children into being just whatever the “chosen” adults thought best for them regardless of the consequences to their developing minds and bodies. This was complicated by the fact that, previous to our newfound data, we thought there were only two genders. But, in fact there were at least 80 different genders and that number was sure to grow. We were also learning that believing in anything bigger than ourselves, that wasn’t government, was evil. Government was to replace religion. Freedom was a concept that needed to be under the control of the “chosen”. Oh, it was a mystery how mankind ever evolved now that we realized everything we learned over the last five thousand plus years was, in fact fallacy, and that the “chosen” new more than history could ever teach us. Mankind had officially failed. We just didn’t realize it until the “chosen” usurped the leadership of earth. No longer were we stuck in the belief that hard work, honesty, integrity, or any other quality we formerly admired, were necessary. Equity. That’s what the only important issue facing society according to the “chosen” and they would make sure we adhered to the mantra. We would do the struggling. They, in their bubble of comfort, would make sure that we did.
I spent my childhood in a tiny house on a gravel road in Kenai Alaska. My two brothers and I shared a room. The first bed that I could call my own was a little cot with a mattress that would cause a riot in any state penitentiary today, and fit in the corner of our little room at the foot of the bunk beds my two older brothers shared. I bathed in water warmed up on the stove. We had two black and white television channels that we could actually receive…. sometimes. We played “Cowboys and Indians” and “war” in the back yard and all over the neighborhood, with toy guns and bows and arrows and boundless imaginations. We played tag and lost and seek. As we grew older we got together with all the neighbor kids and played baseball or football or kickball or anything else we could come up with. We built forts. We camped out in the back yard or in the nearby forest. We rode bicycles everywhere, often where we weren’t supposed to. We dealt with neighborhood bullies and paid the price for bad decisions. It was simple. It was real. The richest kid on the block didn’t have anything the poorest kid needed.
I’ve had a very blessed life, but it started here, where it is likely to end. It’s as wonderful today, sharing my life with my lovely wife and our neighbors, as it was when I was a child sharing it with my family and neighborhood friends. Different, but still wonderful. The memories bring me a tranquility that the outside world can’t deny me. The present brings me a similar peace as my wife and I share the security of a world that differs from the anarchy experienced by much of the rest of the world.
Some people would point to this comfort as privilege. But, Kenai, Alaska, is no more comfortable than any other place in the world is capable of being, and in many respects is markedly less comfortable. Our biggest privilege is what we allow and expect from ourselves. Respect your neighbor. Help where help is needed. Live and let live. Love. Be humble. Take responsibility for your actions.
A message to the “chosen”. We like life this way. It isn’t unfair to anyone. We don’t care about your color or your sex or your sexual preference. We only care that you follow the natural principles that allow us to share our community in peace. This is why freedom works. It’s really not our fault that you and those that follow you choose to panic and cry whenever something doesn’t go your way, or resort to violence and intimidation whenever your cries fall on deaf ears. That’s why the societies that re-elect you are the hardest to live in. They’ve fallen victim to the leadership of the “chosen”. They are your serfs.
He sat looking out the window of his ol’ house at the rain pouring down on the same street he played on growing up on. Things had changed in the neighborhood over the decades since he rode his little red bike through the mud puddles and ditches that had over the years, turned into black top and sidewalks. But the most important things remained the same. He smiled as a boy rode down the street on his bicycle passing, then slowing down and waiting for a young lady in her raincoat on foot. They laughed at something as she playfully threw a punch in his direction and he momentarily sped off ahead only to turn and come back and resume the conversation. He remembered he and his friends walking the same road years ago. He thought about all the growing up they had done. The laughs, the tears, the scrapes and bruises, the games, the fights and the endless nights talking and dreaming. Kids being kids. He prayed they would forever have that opportunity.