Politics...

I know this is out of my performing arts element, but this issue has hit me so hard I am compelled to share wherever I can...

Every once in awhile I read a political post that really hits me hard. At this point, I do everything in my power to stay away from any political posting because it's the same old same old bla bla bla over and over and over again. What hurts deep inside is the fact there are so many people who have absolutely no faith at all in their fellow human beings. They consider them a lowly, bunch of worthless bums, looking for free hand-outs and that our government is just creating dependency. I suppose they have never encountered a child born into poverty with no father or mother and being abandoned at a young age and struggling all their life until someone steps in, recognizes it and extends a lending hand. Or a mom who's been left with 3 kids to raise on her own and she can't hold down a job because it's just too hard to juggle school schedules and sick children, or a father for that matter that works 3 jobs at 7 dollars an hour to raise his kids because he came from another country to give his family a better life and he doesn't have the skills needed for a higher paying job. He puts his life and career aside to care for his kids. But wait, don't tell me, I know it's all their own fault. They deliberately all do this to themselves so they can get a free hand-out. And what about the child that sincerely struggles in school to get a good grade but just can't seem to because they have a learning deficit. God forbid a teacher should recognize this and try to extend them a landing hand, would that teacher be looked at as creating dependency in that child?

My mom was an immigrant, she came from Germany, lived under Hitler and hated it so much she ran as far away as she could. She learned the language by riding the subways, worked her way up to being a photographer and then had my sister and I. After a bad marriage and her inability to finish her studies she had to lift heavy trays and work as a waitress all her life, and from time to time she needed a helping hand to get us through. The only time she ever slapped me across the face is when I bitched about this country. She reminded me of where she came from and that we live in the greatest country there is NOT because of power and money, but because of the PEOPLE. It's the great diversity and caring of the people in this country that makes us so great. I have needed a helping hand from time to time and I am GRATEFUL. Without it I would have been out on the streets with my 2 kids but don't tell me, I know, I did it to myself and I deserve to be on the streets.

Success is amazing and nothing to be undermined. Strong achievers and determined opportunists should be encouraged to follow their dreams and it is great that they can here. But we should also always continue to encourage those at the bottom to rise above, to not lose hope in following their dreams, because somebody, yes somebody believes in them enough to give them a lending hand when they need it most. We watch banks being bailed out, billionaires walking away with more billions as some kind of a bonus when they fail, we pay the high interest rates, get robbed buying homes because we don't have the money or the clout, yet we are to be scoffed at every level. When we lose our kids to gunshots and then have watch the corporation fight for their right to continue to sell their products to the masses is abhorrent. How do the lines get so friggin blurred?

Being a strong believer in the Lord, I know that it is harder for a rich man to go through the eye of the needle than a camel, so I know I'm missing nothing. The richest part of my life comes from life itself. If our priorities stay on selfishness and the almighty dollar, then we are missing the mark. When we have an abundance, we should surely give gladly. When we don't have, we should be grateful when we receive help and not be afraid to ask. When we have enough to get by, we should be grateful and continue to pray for those who don't. The parable says of the three men who were given money by the Lord, the one who buried it and kept it for himself had to dig it up and give it to the others because they put their money out there and were blessed. These beliefs are not socialistic conspiracies and agendas, they are what I have learned through my relationship with Christ.

Have a blessed day. :)