Information Age

There have always been times in our history where an era has been defined by what the advancements that are happening at the time.  You have the industrial revolution which has in effect revolutionized all other advancements even to this day.  The industrial revolution started in the late 1750's and is continuing to this day be furturing the advancements in our society.  One of the advancements is our ability to be better informed about what is transpiring in our world every day.  You only have to read a paper, watch the news, or surf the internet to find out just about anything you want.  This is called the information age and it has helped make the world a smaller place.  At the same time though it has made it easier to share knowledge and also to steal that same knowledge.  You can do an internet search on just about any topic using a multitude of search engines to find out about any subject matter you are interested in.  Some of these sights are full of useful factual information and some of them are just full of jibberish.  The key is being able to tell the difference as you are researching any subject.  This information age has really brought the world to your doorstep.  During WWII you heard about the war by listening to your radio or you saw some film when you went to the theater.  It was all days old news.  During this latest War on Terror we have embedded reporters who are bringing you the fighting as it is happening.  Does that take it too far?  Are we placing our young men and women in a more dangerous situation?  Those questions are above my pay grade.  I like to be informed about the news and to keep myself up to date with what is happening in the world.  The rest of my family really doesn't care.  Unless it is affecting them they don't care.  Even while I was deployed to Iraq this last time they didn't watch the news to stay informed about what was happening over there.  I know that they care in their own way but at the same time that can be troubling to an individual because actions speak louder then words and their actions say "so what".  Enough about me though.  I just think that people should be more informed about what is transpiring in the world and have at least enough knowledge about those events that they could be proactive in a discussion instead of having that "deer in the headlights look" when you are talking about worldly events.  An informed individual is a benefit to the people around them.

American

     What does it mean to be an American?  Is it the same as being a United States citizen?  From my thinking and again this is my point of view I don't think that they are the same.  I say this because from what I see and read today we have too many hyphenated people.  What I mean by that is African-American, Mexican-American, Muslim-American.  What is wrong with just being American.  It used to be that there were block parties and you interacted with your neighbors.  You knew who your friends were and you could say anything to them.  Today our society has developed into a Public relations nightmare.  People are afraid to say what they really feel because they don't want the confrontation or the heartache that goes with it.  People are going through life like an actor in a play.  In a way it seems like a silent jihad is taking place.  We don't have to worry about the enemy destroying our way of life because we are doing it to ourselves.  The enemy doesn't have to cut our throat because of all the bleeding hearts in our society now we are slowly dieing.  This is only my point of view and maybe my thinking is wrong.  It just seems like we care more about how we treat the bad people then we do about the good.
     Just take this for an example.  If you had an altercation with a minority (you put your hand on his shoulder to get him to stop doing something illegal) and he pressed charges against you.  Would you be perceived as innocent or guilty?  Would our liberal media try you in the paper and on the news without knowing the full story?  Would you life basically be over as you know it?  These are just some of the questions that run through my mind when I read the internet and the watch the news.  It is no wonder we no longer really help others.  We used to get together as a community and do a barn raising.  They used to build a complete barn in just a couple of days.  Why?  Because everyone was involved.  Sometimes progress isn't for the better I think.  Just the rumblings of a concerned citizen of America.

Sacrifice

Tuesday my youngest son will be going up to the MEPs station in Kansas City and signing up to be in the United States Army.  He is choosing to go and I am so proud of him.  I have never forced my sons to follow my example and join the military and yet each of them did of their own accord.  My oldest is in the United States Air Force and currently in Great Falls, Montana guarding missile silos.  He is on orders to go to portugal in December and is very excited about the opportunity.  My second son is in the United States Army in Hawaii working with computers.  It is time for him to reenlist and he is exploring his options.  I am extremely proud of these three young men.  They have made it their responsibility in life to serve and possibly fight to protect our rights.  I was reading my copy of the Army Times this morning and started looking at the pictures of the fallen fromour war on terror.  I only looked at the Operation Iraqi Freedom pictures since that is where I served so much of my time.  Most people might know one or two people who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.  It was an emotional morning as I counted the number of fallen who I had served with and knew personally.  An Infantry platoon has 30 people in it and there are 3 Infantry platoon's in an Infantry company.  You can see by this example that when I say I knew and served with 58 people who have paid that sacrifice I am referring to almost two thirds of an Infantry company.  It makes me very sad, guilty, proud, and relieved all at the same time.  Knowing that there are men and women such as those who paid that sacrifice who willing join the military each and every day.  I know this because I have known three of these individuals for all of their lives and would gladly stand by their sides any day of the week.  I know that by my sons joining the military that they have placed themselves into the breach to defend our freedoms.  I know that at any time their time on this earth could come to an end and yet you can't deny that they enjoy each and every day of what they are doing.  I am the same as any parent out there who would gladly change places with the ones they love if they are in harms way but my heart beats proudly knowing that I have such strong sons to carry on the mission of defending this great nation.  I hope other people realize the sacrifices that our young men and women go through in order for you to go about your daily lives.

School Shootings

I was cruising the internet today when I saw the breaking news of a shooting in a California Christian School.  Initially it was said there were at least five people hurt and later it was reported that 5 people were killed.  This seems to be an escalating problem in our society.  After reading this article I did a search of other shootings and found a very disturbing trend.  Some so called experts will say that the people involved in the shootings have watched too much violence on TV or at the movies.  They have played too many violent video games.  I for one will say that those excuses are crap.  I have served 5 years in a war zone and that is more violent then any TV show or video game.  In those situations there is no starting over at a saved spot or just waiting until the next movie where you will see that actor and he is alive and well.  Another excuse you hear is that the person was picked on all the time and they didn't have many friends and so on and so on.  When do we as a society place the blame where it really should be placed?  Don't parents have the ultimate responsibility of teaching their children right from wrong?  Aren't they ultimately responsible for watching out for the welfare of society?  I know that my wife and I talk to our kids to see how their days went and how they are physically and mentally.  We are constantly in touch with our sons even today and two of them are thousands of miles away.  They have grown into very fine young men.  This subject strikes close to home for me because my youngest son was going to Joplin Memorial school a few years ago when there was a shooting there.  I was mad when this happened but not at the student so much as at the school administration and the parents of the shooter.  We as parents have this obligation from the time that we choose to become a parent.  Maybe we need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we are doing the best for our kids and society that we are able to.  If the answer is yes then congratulations and keep up the good work.  If the answer is no then you have some work ahead of you.  I wish you the best of luck.  Lets keep these people in our prayers.

Staff Sergeant Robert Bales

The top military story in the last few weeks has been the 17 murders in Afghanistan by Staff Sergeant Robert Bales.  This has been front page news which isn't surprising since it is really the only news from the war front.  I remember when 9-11 initially happened and it was all over the news.  You could read or watch anything without it reflecting on the war on terror.  It is only a formality during the trial that he will be found guilty and be sentenced to Fort Leavenworth Kansas which is reserved for the most hardened military criminals.  It is the only maximum security prison in the military.  We will probably never hear the full story behind what drove this soldier to do these crimes.  We do our military servicemembers a disservice by not really understanding what they are going through.  Soldiers see it as a means of weakness to admit that they can't handle their feelings so they don't seek help.  Our leaders are busy preparing and training soldiers to be ready to deploy and fight the enemy and really aren't fully trained when it comes to watching for the signs of mental unstability.  Soldiers are humans and they really can't compartmentilize their feelings.  Even while deployed you are wondering what is going on with your family.  One bad letter from the homefront can change everything for that soldier in the deployed theater of operations.  This war has been going on for almost 11 years now and soldiers are tired both mentally and physically.  On top of that the American people are saying that the war is no longer popular.  I have almost 5 years of being in a war zone as both a soldier and as a government contractor.  The average American can not fathom what our service men and women see and do on a daily basis in order to protect their freedoms.  Don't judge every person you see in uniform just because of the terrible acts of a select few.  I know that I served with some of the best and brightest during my 20 plus years and I salute them all.

Spring Break

What a refreshing time last week was.  The ability to just relax from school work.  It was really helpful in the recharging of my batteries in order to finish out this semester.  Working 12 hours a day and taking 15 hours of online classes can become taxing to the old brain every now and then.  It takes a lot of dedication to get all of your assignments in on time and to the best of your ability.  You can not just sit back and wait until the last minute to do these things.  If you do then you could be in for a world of hurt if an emergency arose and you couldn't get something done ontime due to your prcrastination.  I know that I am ready to finish out this semester and see what the future brings.  I was going to take summer school but maybe I will just take the summer off and come back strong in the fall.  Still haven't decided on that one yet though.  I hope everyone had a great break and is ready to get back to the books.

     I have been thinking alot about the future lately.  There are so many questions that you can ask yourself and so many things that you should or could prepare for.  Does that make you a person that others say don't grasp the importance of living in the here and now?
     I know how to live in the here and now.  Believe me when I say that I have learned to live in the moment and to stop and smell the roses.  After fighting in two wars for this nation I definitely know how to do that.  At the same time I know how important it is to have contingency plans for the unexpected.  It is better to be prepared for the unexpected then it is to react.  The whole concept is to prepare for the bad things and hope for the good.  I wrote another blog about the show doomsday preppers that is currently on TV.  Some people see them as being crazy and yet I feel a sort of kinship with them.  I know how important it is to be prepared.  I personally think that some of them take it to the extremes but that is their life and we have no reason to judge or dictate what they do.  That is one of the freedoms in this country.  Yes they have spent a lot of money in that lifestyle but they justify the expenses as a means to continual survival if the SHTF.
     Ask yourself what you would do if the economy crashed or there was a solar flare that knocked out the power grid for good?  All that money you have in the bank (ha ha) would be for naught because you wouldn't be able to get to it.  Do you have enough food and water in your home for at least 3 days?  Do you something that you would be able to trade in order to get these items?  That is all that prepping is about and that is some of the things that I have been thinking about lately.
     My mother-in-law lives with us and she puts all of her faith in God and says he will take care of her and provide.  She tells me that I some of the things that I have bought and built are not necessary and yet I have also read the bible and believe in God.  I also know that God wouldn't of put me in some of the situations I have been in during my life if it wasn't to teach me how to use certain skills.  People are put in our lives for a purpose.  Maybe my purpose is to be the protector for my mother-in-law and my family.  Just my thoughts about the future.