Break Time

Spring has finally come to the Great Northeast, in all it's glory. The days are still getting longer, the air over the last couple of days has turned sultry and is filled with all the different scents of Spring. Early in the morning, I can hear the birds calling to each other and watch the squirrels as they make their way through the tree branches as they do every morning. I love this time of the year, the Spring Renewal. The trees take on a light green hue, as their leaves slowly unfold.. it's one of the most beautiful colors in all of nature. Flowers are pushing their heads towards the heavens, in search of the sun. The bees help in their pollination to help them regenerate and spread their beauty through the gardens and roadsides. There isn't a thing not to love in the days of Spring and Summer. I love the sound of the mowers on the weekends, and I miss the shouts and the laughter of the children in this neighborhood who have all grown up and left to raise their own families. Nevertheless, I can sit in the sun with my coffee and read, or close my eyes and recall the sounds of their voices echoing off of the mountainside. A good memory for an old man.
 I decided to get away from Facebook for a while. A week, maybe more, to sit and just enjoy the fact that I am still alive and kicking and able to soak up the sun. I chose this time because I am about burned out. The murders at Sandy Hook, the reaction of some people afterwards have really shaken my long held belief that most people are good and care about others. When I saw the first reaction of some of the people that I have know from my younger years, I was very shocked. It wasn't sorrow for the loss of those children and their caretakers. It wasn't grief. It was "Oh, hell... now they're going to come and get my guns!" Really? Then came the hate mongers, and they directed their venom at anyone who did not agree with them. Bob Davis, a so-called Conservative Radio host said, and I quote: “I have something I want to say to the victims of Newtown, or any other shooting,” namely that the gun reforms they’ve been lobbying for “force me to lose my liberty, which is a greater tragedy than your loss.” Really? Your right to bear arms trumps the right of those children and their caretakers to their right to live, as laid out in the Declaration Of Independence : 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.'
 Now, I'm not against the 2nd Amendment. I believe that it is a citizens right to bear arms. But to say something so callous just boggles my mind. This is , unfortunately, the attitude of so many in this country.
  As if that isn't enough, there is the daily hatred posted on facebook.  Look, I don't give a damn what party you are for, these constant conspiracy theories and call for the overthrow of the government are crazy. You don't like the president? That's your right. You can dislike him all that you want. I don't like Romney or Ryan and hated their plans for dismantling Social Security and Medicare. I didn't much care for the way that the Bush administration ran the country, but I have no hatred of Dubya, and believe that he thought that he was doing the right thing by the country. That was my opinion. Yet, I never called for his overthrow. I cast my ballot like a good citizen should. My vote did not matter. President Bush was elected, and then re-elected. Fine. It was the will of the people. I voted for McCain in '08, because I didn't feel that Mr. Obama had enough experience, and I really admired Senator McCain. McCain lost, and Mr. Obama became President. I supported him and wished him well, especially in the face of the financial meltdown that he faced coming into office. His first term was rocky, not helped by all these nonsense hate theories that continue to this day. The birther nonsense (The Carl Rove machine did the same thing to McCain in the 2000 elections because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone.) The Muslim thing... all of it that continues. When the Seals got Bin Laden, instead of congratulating the whole operation, all of these people said "Obama had nothing to do with it!" He did. he gave the order to commit. Reagan got the credit for freeing the hostages, when, in fact, he had nothing to do with it. Then there's Bengazi. All I hear is "Impeach! It was his fault!"  Really? Tell me something... where were you all when they blew up the Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983? 241 Marines lost their lives, and nothing was ever done to avenge them. I don't recall hearing one call for impeachment. There are other things, but the long and the short of it is that I just cannot take the hatred. You don't like Obama? Live with it. I can't recall one election where everyone was happy with the outcome.
  There are other things, such as the constant posts on religion, that bother me. This is because I have Jewish and Christian children, and my Jewish children and wife are constantly being shortchanged. Religion should be a private thing, in my opinion. I would not tell you my feelings on it in a public forum, because they are my private feelings. Enough said about that subject.
  So, there you have it. I hope everyone has a good Spring and Summer. If you chose to cut me from your friends list after reading this, like a few have done already, that's up to you. I hold no animosity to anyone. I just wish that we could just get along, and disagree without the hatred.
  Peace
 John Zaffino May4, 2013