All Lives Matter

The first month of this new lifestyle took some getting used to, but I made adjustments and did just fine.  But now, it's three months later and I'm over it, getting antsy and crabby, and ready to have this whole COVID thing go away.  We've seen the protests, the rioting, the looting and it breaks my heart to think of all the store owners who now have lost everything, who have nothing to go back to to get their lives back.  They spent  those months of just waiting, scrimping and saving and salvaging whatever they could out of the situation -- and now have lost everything that could have been a way up and out of the morass created by COVID because the looting and burning of businesses have taken that away.  There is no picking up the pieces when you were  just making ends meet.  Insurance will only cover so much of the losses -- and where are the records to show what was lost in the looting?  Well, they burned up as well.

It breaks my heart to be in this world right now, to listen to people demand "justice" when their way of getting it is to destroy what has been part of this country for centuries.  Beautiful monuments and statues have been defaced, torn down, torn apart.  Cemeteries honoring the lives of those who died for this country have been  desecrated.  Cities that have fought to improve their appearance and become the heart of a people's prosperity have been looted and then destroyed.  And hoodlums who are looting, stealing, vandalizing and destroying are shoving signs at the newscasters proclaiming that "Black lives matter."  If they truly mattered, those very people who want so much would never have destroyed what they did have to get it.

I was told, as a child and young adult, that I would get what I worked for:  no one was going to give me a free ride, so I'd better prepare myself to work hard in order to have a better life.  First step in the process was an education -- and one size fit all.  There were no special circumstances, no getting off the hook in the hard classes, no free ride.  If you wanted an education, you had to work hard for it, but there came a sense of pride when you completed the requirements and got to graduate.  Sure, only a few could graduate at the top of their class, and the rest of us just sort of fell into line behind them, but we all had to earn it whether with high grades and honors or barely squeeking by.  Some never made it, but almost everyone tried--and a lot succeeded beyond their expectations.  Some went onto college, most often not at one of the prestigious colleges, but, rather, at a community college or a nearby 4-year program they commuted to attend--and others?  Well, often they turned to the military for basic training in a skill that they could practice for an enlistment before getting out of the service and using those skills in their communities.  Some, the lucky ones who thrived in the military environment, made it a career and retired after 20 years with a nice little pension, still young enough to take on a second career and have a good life with their families and friends.

No one gave it to another.  It was there for the taking, but it was all on the one who wanted what life had to offer.  Hard work never hurt anyone, but sloughing off, giving up?  that hurts everyone.  If any lives matter, they all matter regardless of the size, the shape, or the color--but no one owes anyone else anything when it comes to making it through life.  We all have to make our own way, and some do better than others and some do worse, but most of us?  We find a place for ourselves and make it the best it can be.  If we want more, we try to earn more, often by going back for some additional schooling and/or training.  Sometimes, we have to change jobs because we cannot be as successful in a job as we thought we could when we chose it.  Sometimes, we have to take what we can get and be glad we got it because others tried and failed, but we made it.   Barely, but we made it and had a sense of accomplishment that gave us pride in who we are and what we can do.

I'm sick about where we are today, what we have become, who we think we are, and how far we have sunk from the ideals that were the basic precepts of life when I was "coming up," as they say.  Everything I was taught to believe has been tossed into the ruins of a looted building to burn and destroy what this nation stands for.  No one owes you anything; if you want it, go out and learn and then earn.  Work your ass off and do the best possible job of which you are capable, and earn the fruits of your labor.  You won't always get rich from paychecks, but you'll have your self-worth, your self-esteem, your pride in yourself for a job well-done personally and professionally.

Stop proclaiming that you are owed something because ... fill in the blanks.  No one owes anyone anything, but we all have the right to earn what we want or need to make our lives matter.  If you want your life to matter, make it matter first to yourself, and then to others.  Stop burning and looting and destroying and start by rebuilding your own life into the life you need it to be.  Focus on improving yourself and stop pitying yourself for what you don't have, but want.  If you truly want it, if you need it, then go out and work for it.  You'll be proud of yourself and your accomplishments and be well-respected by your fellow citizens.  All lives matter, regardless of color or creed.