I Used To Fit In With The World

I was on my way to work yesterday, it was time once again to inventory the shoe store. On the way to work I was listening to my truck's radio and there were people talking about recycling our trash. They actually used the words "good trash" and "bad trash". Okay so here it is the definition of the word "trash" - rubbish: worthless material that is to be disposed of. Okay that is according to Webster's Dictionary.

As I decided that I had heard enough of that station, I changed it to another local station, and heard them talking about how "green" our city is. They used the phrase, "green footprint", meaning how well we are protecting the enviroment. I must admit, that I did not really understand what any of these people were talking about. I used to fit in with the world, but apparently not any more. I felt like an old, used up has-been from another era listening to those radio broadcasts.

I personally believe that "going green" and recycling everything under the sun is an excercise in futility. Let me explain what I mean by that. According to

2 Peter 3:7 & 10 (7)By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (10)But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

I say that it is an excercise in futility because of the fact that one day it will all be burned up in the day of judgement. This planet that people are feverishly trying to save, will be destroyed eventually...and no matter how big a green footprint we leave, it is not going to stop it.

This is not to say that I think we should willingly pollute the enviroment, no not at all. If you would take a look inside the cab of my truck you would realize that I think littering is a bad thing. So much so, that I would rather ride around with a bunch of trash in the floorboard than to throw it out.

I guess my question is this, what are we really teaching this younger generation? That if they seperate clear plastics from dark plastics it makes them a better person? How? What is the agenda here really? It seems to me to be more about "how" it makes the person who is doing it feel, than actually about the "what" it does for the enviroment.

I'm just becoming obsolete as a member of society I guess, not that that's really a bad thing...the way society is going. I'll keep my enviroment clean of trash, (I learned that from the crying Indian) but I'm not going to recycle...I'll leave that for the "feel good" generation....

Stand Up

Okay, so I'm not a fan of beauty pagents, and I don't watch them. But apparently this last Ms. USA pagent has had some controversy surrounding it. I watched the clips where Perez Hilton, this guy who's claim to fame is that he is some type of celebrity blogger was a judge for the pagent. He asked Ms. California a question did she think all states should allow gay marriage.
Her answer was that while she thought everyone was entitled to choose, her opinion was that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

The thing that I find interesting is then a day or two later he is referring to her using the "b" word and the "c" word. I'm wondering what she did to deserve such horrid and deragitory treatment. She answered his question in a way that he didn't like! What has this world come to when we are asked what our opinions are and then we are blasted because we didn't answer in the way the person asking for our opinions wanted us to?

This little poser boy should be taken to task for his treatment of her. Where are all the women's groups? They have been mysteriously quiet as this girl has been raked over the coals. If she had been raped physically by Perez Hilton there woud be all types of outcries...wouldn't there? He has verbally raped her, and don't think it is anything other than that. He has violated her as a person, not caring the least bit for her heart. No, all he is doing is trying to get a little bit bigger piece of fame and fortune for himself, and I for one am sickened by the lack of support for this girl who stated her mind.

Okay, so I'm a little worked up today over this, because it seems that if we stand up and say what we believe and it doesn't match up to the main stream of society then we are treated as lepers or outcasts. I for one, would much rather spend time with lepers and outcasts than the mainstream of society with its small view of a person's heart.

So hear my battle cry today, "Stand up! Stand up for what is good, honest and decent! Don't cower down to the main stream of society that says you are a bigot if you don't agree with them! Stand up and look evil square in its face and call it what it is. No more should we stand idly by while all that is good, virtous and true get trampled in the name of getting along! Stand up and speak the truth in love all the while keeping your spine stiff and straight as the onslaught of popular opinion crashes into you like a wave!"

I'm reminded of the quote, "All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men and women to do nothing." (Dave's paraphrase) It's time for those of us who are tired of the main stream of society to get out there and divert the flow of it away from what is good and true, and aim it in the direction of where it really needs to go, the sewer.

Where are the leaders?

Okay, so I've just gotta get this off of my chest. It's really been bothering me, and to be quite honest if I don't get it out, I think I might literally explode.

WHERE ARE ALL THE LEADERS?

I mean come on, I wonder where all the leaders are nowadays. When I was growing up back in the late sixties and early seventies, we knew who the bad guys were because of the way they acted. Now that I'm forty-five, I wonder if anyone really knows who the bad guys are. What I've seen doesn't lead me to believe they do.

When my childhood hero John Wayne fought against the bad guys in the movies he was in, you could always tell who they were. For the most part it was simple, they were the guys who were trying to tell other people what to do. Things really haven't changed that much in all these years. The bad guys still are telling people what to do.

In the movies, the bad guys would start messing with folks, and some good guy would ride in and take care of them. One of my favorite scenes of all times is in the movie "True Grit". John Wayne plays a crotchity old guy named Rooster Cogburn. He's been hunting this particular bad guy for a while, and it's time for the showdown. Rooster hollars at the man, "Fill your hands you s.o.b.!" and taking the reigns into his mouth he charges his horse across the field firing a rifle from one hand and a pistol from the other.

What I love about this scene is that Rooster Cogburn just takes care of business. He doesn't wait for a comittee meeting, or worry if the political pundits will say anything negative about his decision. He just takes care of business, like a leader should.

In this day and age, we need leaders both men and women to stand up and do right because it's the right thing to do, not because it might make it onto the news and make them look better. Where are the leaders? I'm not sure, but I know this...if John Wayne were still alive, he'd probably have a big job using his boot to get his point across...strength and honor....