Henry Lee Faulkner USN Ret. retired in 1983 as a Chief Navy Counselor, born Henry Lee Faulkner July 22nd, 1944. The youngest of three sons, to parents who migrated from the south in the late 1930s. At an early age, he established a tenacity for work, spearheaded by a labor-intensive father. He developed an inquisitive personality, nurtured by his maternal grandfather. He became an avid reader, way before his teenage years, under the persistent coaching from his mother.
The expectations of the book “Guidance Against the Odds” and the webpage http://www.bookmystory.net/About-Us.html, is entirely motivational. With the core focus on inspiring young minds to read, to study history and to reach out to other youths across the nation, while learning the art of communicating by listening with empathy rather than immediate discord. With a world measured by speed, data delight, sound bites of negativity, and while politicians with social discourse increasingly becoming common core, there is a need for stability of reasoning. In short, first and foremost, a provocation for those who know and understand the cause and effect from the demagoguery of the pass and a brainwave for the millions who are turned off by the bully mindset that prevails in America today. “The Audacity of the Millennia’s,” a rhetorical statement, meant as a stimulus, to and for a generation (for the most part) who within a decade or so will be moving into the eldership of the most powerful nation on earth. A mental make-up of divisiveness, a non-demonstrative direction of leadership growing deeper in a country which purposively stands for “Liberty and Justice for All,” must be changed, before divisiveness takes us to the point of no return. The adjective “United” and the noun “States” contrasts’ to the infinity with the present leadership of these United States.
“Tear down this wall!” is a line from a speech made by President Reagan on June 12, 1987, calling for the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to open up the barrier which had divided West and East Berlin. In 1961, a wall was built. For those who know history, it does not matter the political reasons of the time, just that it divided people; feeding on fear and hate as it’s motivation. It took 28 years with America’s involvement before the wall was torn down. In 2017, 28 years later narcissism and the conversation about building walls, feeding ounce again on fears and prejudices as a means for political dominance plagues the freest country in the world.
The Audacity of the Millennia’s, I would hope, is not to follow in the footsteps of generation “X.” Generation X, parents of Millennia’s, population approximately 41 million are known as the generation having the lowest voting participation rate of any generation. Generation Xers have been quoted by Newsweek as “the generation that dropped out without ever turning on the news or tuning into the social issues around them,” giving suspect to the missing links with constructive communications today.
It would be a misnomer to say that Millennia’s are the same, with the “I” and “Smart” phones at their fingertips breakfast lunch and dinner. The question is, will Millennia’s smell the bacon and seal the yoke or wakeup and change the menu?
Mr. President, enough already. Please stop in the name of Myeshia Johnson and all the Gold Star Families for common decency and honor. I’m repeating this blog for the 4th time since 2016. Unfortunately, look where we are now; I fear you will not change. But nothing beats a try.
Super Bowl Sunday is one of America’s most united days, all because of the bliss of football. All through the season, we support our specific teams and then come together one day of the year to cheer on one of two outstanding teams. But the polarization of our society with the demagoguery of a violent nature has overtly slithered into America’s most celebrated pastime. On Sunday, October 2, 2016, Joseph Bauer, a former U.S. Marine and Raven fan, was struck intentionally in the head by one of two football fans of an opposing team. The fact he had served our country in the military hit home for me. During the 2016 presidential primaries, it didn’t help that statements of a violent nature were blatantly boosted by a candidate for president of the United States. “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose voters.” The violence induced by your divisive language and disrespect directed at Gold Star families is despicable.
At the age of seventeen, Mr. President, after being systematically trained to swallow the bitter pill of racism, a purposeful act of knowing my place, I joined the U.S. Navy. The oath I took was as follows:
The key phrase, and still is for me, is “So help me, God.” As a child, I was taught never to use the Lord’s name in vain and that lying was a sin displeasing to God. If you make a promise, especially to God, with any sense of morality, there’s no compromise. Faith is not just a Sabbath day ritual. What the beautiful children of this great nation deserve is a conscientious presenter of moral scruples, not a presenter of hate and division.
“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me, God.”
Every service member must promise and adhere to the Oath of Enlistment for his/her entire military career. From the Oath, you can see that you will be defending the Constitution and not a person.
Mr. President, immigration and the institution of slavery were the mechanisms that built this nation. Recognizing inequities, amendments to the Constitution were necessary to guarantee all, regardless of race, creed, color, or sexual orientation, the freedom of speech and religion. Mr. President, this means Christians, non-Christians – Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and other world religions, including Atheist and Agnostic, or no religion at all. Serving my country gave me the opportunity to attend church services for many different denominations. Although various versions of the Bible are used, i.e., KJV, NKJV, NIV, ESV, there is a commonality: the presence of love and respect in the soul. When people are exploited and divided as you do, it creates fear, leading neighbors to distrust one another and communities to lock down. A calamity I refer to as “virtual people rustling.” A modern-day form of slavery, which one seems to relish. Slavery was an institution abolished due to military necessity, a growing anti-slavery sentiment in the North,and the self-emancipation of many who fled enslavement, the loss of the South’s enforced workforce. But racism, the fundamental element, a virus of ideological discourse, has been uplifted through your manipulation of facts, always with a finger-pointing dogma. There is “The Man in the Mirror.”
Through the wisdom of my elders, I learned to never judge a book by its’ cover or use name-calling with a degrading pretense to achieve an objective. Demeaning someone with expletives was the same as pointing. Words can be a reflection of one’s self, and three of your fingers will always be pointing back at you.
A little of African American history, Mr. President, must be stated. Back in the day, to frame a mindset of resistance and overcome the never-ending rain of indignation, some blacks played the “Dozen,” upon each other, a game of spoken words between two contestants, usually in front of a small audience. The participants in the game focused on the opposing player’s competency, appearance, intelligence, etc. As time elapsed, comments in the game ventured into sexuality or “yo mama jokes.” it then became the “Dirty Dozen.” Nowadays, it’s no game; it’s offensive. Anything in life you practice, you become good at, even “Fake News” and “Alternative Facts.” The art of Rapping, another African American creation, was born in Harlem, New York, requiring coordination of the mind and the tongue, the linguistics of black communication, which now grosses billions of dollars. Rapping in its’ lyrics was initially a cry for help from the inner-city youth. The words soon turned to Gangsta rap, a subgenre of hip-hop music in the mid-1980s, as society continued to ignore their cries. From the introduction of drugs, the failure of “Trickle Down Economics,” and the siphoning of jobs to overseas markets, the prisons began to fill as black lives didn’t seem to matter. Then, there came the unadulterated unequal treatment in the court system, a subject for another executive enlightenment.
In reality, Mr. President, you played the dozen in the primaries, and your opponents couldn’t hang. And you have continued in your presidency as if it is a game. Sparked in large part by your election, millions of women demonstrated around the world on the 21st of January to send a bold message that women’s rights are human rights. One week later, thousands protested at airports nationwide against new immigration orders. Movements Don’t Start with a Strategy; They Start with a Moment. The March on Washington, which resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1965, was a movement created by a moment on Blooded Sunday. The world saw Alabama State Troopers shooting tear gas and wading into a crowd of nonviolent protesters with billy clubs on the Edmund Pettis Bridge, ultimately hospitalizing over fifty people, of which Congressman John Lewis was one of the injured. He wears the scars to this day. Upon his refusal to attend your inauguration, you played the “Dozens” again with a statement of alternative facts. Be advised, Mr. President. History has a way of repeating itself.
I have high regard for the office of the presidency and in keeping with the oath I took, dedicating 22 years of my life. I will never play the dozens on you. I am a member of the Mature and Silent Generation; in my youth, I played the “Dozens” and was pretty good. In the words of Denzel Washington, “Anything you practice, you can get good at, including BS.” But Mr. President, there is a time and place for everything. Words of bigotry and hate are out of place as the Commander-in-Chief of the world’s greatest military. What makes you think in the next three years of your presidency, your words and actions will galvanize our nation’s youth to serve behind a vindictive personality. I’ve learned forgiveness thru the words of God, as did the families of the Charleston Church shooting. It’s something only people in the spirit can understand.
Therefore, I pledge I will never yell, “You Lie.” As long as you are in the office, I will never question your birth, make fun of your hair or hands, call you names, or bring attention to your facial expressions. I won’t talk about your sexual demeaning of women or the marking of the disabled. I won’t even question your tax returns because I want you to succeed. You are the president. If you succeed in creating jobs while keeping America safe, improving the quality of life for all, especially the poor and the declining middle class, and claim the fears and the hatred, then and only then will America succeed. Respecting a position does not necessitate respecting the person. There’s a moral obligation involved. As human beings, one unto another, we earn each other’s respect. There is such a thing as empathy and shame, two small words but powerful when they are embedded in the soul. As a veteran, I was saddened to hear a potential Commander in Chief make a statement considered beyond the pale about a slain Muslim American soldier. Then there was a disparaging comment about a prisoner of war; Senator John McCain, another hero, a man who took the same oath as I. You, Mr. President, are on the far end of the spectrum, falling into the category of not having a clue. Running a business requires investing money for a return. You do not run the United States of America. As Commander-in-Chief, you are supposed to lead by example by investing in people. People, by human nature, will respond positively when you put their best interests at heart. Furthermore, it’s a role model issue for America’s children are watching. Don’t call me a loser; expect me to serve you breakfast in bed. America is not an Empire, and you are not an Emperor.
There’s an old African proverb: “The enemy outside cannot hurt you if there’s no enemy within.” Re-worded so that it can be better understood; “The enemy outside cannot hurt you when there’s unity within.” You have the power to eliminate the atmosphere of frivolity, leadership by threat, and diversionary politics.
On September 13th and 16th of last year, I posted two tweets regarding Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling during the national anthem. I did not take a position on his patriotism. I only asked a (why) question in one post and stated a fact in another. The first was an attempt at setting the basis for a fruitful and meaningful conversation. It was after Bill O’Reilly’s take on history and his new book. With this, l had to write a second post. In my second post, I used a metaphor. Figuratively speaking, stating he had a loud mouth, able to reach a large audience thereby causing a snowballing effect with what he says, with his ideology on life as insight and being the authority (Controversy just like drugs can create a market of its own; of which he has corned.) I also left out the hyphen and used a lower case (r) and put the (i) before the (e) in O’Reilly’s name, a fishing technique. As fishers know, it’s the tide, water temperature and sometimes luck, but mainly it’s the bait. I am not well known on Facebook. Therefore I was fishing in unfamiliar waters. Where you fish and what you’re fishing for, will determine what you catch. I caught me a human grouper. I came under immediate attack, as Groupers feed on other fish. First, stating I was not a historian and also I didn’t know how to spell. I never stated I was. The veracity of it all, I was a high school dropout because of racial bullying. I had said that I had written a book and had read history since leaving school (meaning books) that didn’t coincide with what I was taught to believe. His hunger for a divisive confrontation overshadowed the fact he was being baited.
“Marketers of Discontent” is a chapter out of “The Wrecking Crew” by Thomas Frank. Fake news has been around since before I was a child; The National Enquire and Globe magazines are the prime examples. Negative campaigning, is another amenity for a Grouper, feeding on the unconscious. i.e., The Coffin Handbills 1828, “Willie Horton 1988,” “Harry and Louise 1993,” “Hillary Clinton’s 3 am phone call 2008,” are just a few examples. As a child, I roped learned the Preamble to the Constitution and can say it precisely today. “Anything you practice you can get good at,” Denzel Washington. It has become common in our society to argue as opposed to listening to common sense reasoning because of what we’ve been “rope learned” to believe thru unconscious repetitive listening, exacerbated by hate.
Businesspeople tend to be conservatives. Therefore conservatism itself becomes a business. Political entrepreneurship, if you will. In its embryonic form, seek out and pedal grievances to the like-minded. (*page 71.)
We have been influenced by Russia through Facebook through rope (negative) learning, paid for with Russian Roubes. The 45th continues to deny, and his base continues to believe. He sounds like Jim Jones with a larger captive audience. Continuously, as if he is still standing in the middle of 5th avenue. Thereby deepening the divide, undercutting the ability for any conversations of substance.
I say to the 45th, even though he cares not to understand. Sports, like the Military, is the fifth element after earth, air, fire, and water. Men and women who listen and support each other as they repel hypothetical and repulsive forces that try to divide them are called comrades. Camaraderie is the embodiment of teamwork, the quintessence of love, the product of an untethered soul. Something you can not destroy.
Super Bowl Sunday is one of America’s most united days. Through the season, we support our specific teams and then come together one day of the year to cheer on one of two teams, even if our home team is not playing for the highest honor. But in some crazy theory, the 45th president of the United States has managed to do it again. One year ago, on Sunday, October 2, 2016, Joseph Bauer, a former U.S. Marine and Ravens fan, was struck in the head at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore by one of two New York football fans. Being a Navy retiree, the fact that he had served our country hit home for me. When it happened, I thought about then-candidate Trump.
“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose voters.” Also, recalling an African American was caught on camera being sucker punched in the head at one of your rallies.
Mr. President, fifty-six years ago, I was seventeen, systematically trained from birth to swallow the bitter pill of racism. In other words, trained to remember my place. Although programmed to feel like a second-class citizen, I joined the U.S. Navy. The oath I took was as follows:
“I, Henry Lee Faulkner, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
You took an oath to support, protect, and defend the Constitution of The United States with your right hand on the Bible, saying, “So help me, God.”
“So help me God” was the keyword for me. As a child, I was taught never to use the Lord’s name in vain and never swear to God unless I meant it. Your latest tirade, calling fellow citizens SOB, demonstrates even more your continued efforts of divisiveness while the nation’s youth take note.
I have high regard for the office of the presidency, in keeping with the oath I took and re-took four times for a total of 22 years. But, in the words of Denzel Washington, “Anything you practice, you can get good at, including BS,” and you are superb, a master at manipulator.
I’ve learned forgiveness through the word of God, as did the families of the Charleston Church shootings. It’s something only people in the spirit can understand. Vindictive personalities stick out like a whale out of the water.
Therefore, I will pledge as long as you are in office, I will never question your birth, make fun of your hair, or call you an SOB. I will not ask about your tax returns because I want you to succeed. You are supposed to be the president of all the people. If you succeed in creating jobs while keeping America safe, improve the quality of life for all, especially the poor and the declining middle class, and claim the fears and the hatred, then and only then will America succeed. But let me be clear, respecting the position does not mean I respect the person. As a veteran, I was saddened to hear a potential Commander in Chief make a statement considered beyond the pale about a slain Muslim American soldier and a disparaging statement about a prisoner of war, Senator John McCain. Men who took the same oath as I. You, Mr. President, are on the far end of the spectrum, falling into the category of not having a clue if you believe what you say. You are making it about the flag. It’s about black lives, and you know it. Running a business requires investing money for a potential return. To keep “America Great,” you’ve got to invest in people. People, then, by human nature, will respond positively. Don’t call me an expletive, criticizing my right to free speech, and then expect me to serve you breakfast in bed. Our country is not an Empire, and you, you are not an Emperor.
I wrote a book, not about being poor, but a self-portrait about navigating the minefields of racism from childhood. I’ve made over two hundred peaceful tweets. Rosa Parks sat down peacefully and got locked up. It took courage for Colin Kaepernick to take a knee. The only opposition claiming it is a problem rather than bringing attention to a serious issue is supremacy. Step out of the clouds, Mr. 45th, and into reality; everyone was not as fortunate as you.
There is An old African proverb: “The enemy outside cannot hurt you if there’s no enemy within.”
Following through on your convictions when the tide is running against you is a sign of courage. In America, democracy is trumped by money. This blog was posted a year ago. Kaepernick has not been hired, nor has he backed down. Having donated $1 million to various charities, while O’Reilly, although released from FOX, rumbles on.
On September 13th and 16th of this year, I posted two tweets regarding Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling during the national anthem. I did not take a position on his patriotism. I asked a (why) question in one post and stated facts in another. The first was an attempt at setting a firm basis in reality and therefore having a significant and meaningful conversation. After Bill O’Reilly’s take on history and his book, l had to write a second post. In my second post, I used a metaphor, figuratively stating he had a loud mouth, able to reach a large audience thereby causing a snowballing effect with what he says. I also left out the hyphen and used a lower case (r) and put the (i) before the (e) in O’Reilly’s name; a fishing technic, as fishermen, we know it’s the bait and sometimes it’s luck. But, where you fish and what you’re fishing for, will determine what…
“Man Overboard,” both literally and figuratively speaking.
Mr. Speaker, in February of this year I tweeted to the President of the United States with no expectations that it would cross his eyes. Therefore, it was mostly an attempt to get a conversation started with the American people. This blog is different Mr. Speaker. It’s called “Man Overboard.” But first I needed to give a little background. In 2016 my book “Guidance Against the Odds” was published. I had no writing experience, and the two-year process taught me a lot. First and foremost, the words a person uses and how presented, written or spoken, can depict the character of a person. In 1963 I was serving as a Fly Talker on the Flight deck of the USS Forrestal (CVA59). I communicated with Flight Deck Control and other Fly Talkers in real time the physical positions of planes, personnel, and equipment. In that job, I learned the valuable lesson of human/social cohesiveness. On a typical day of flight operations in the Mediterranean Sea, a fellow shipmate fell overboard; to flight deck control, I immediately radioed “Man overboard!” “Man overboard,” port side! As I watched him hit the water, the ship began to turn. I was later told by my Division Officer, the tone of my voice, gave no hesitation in notifying the Officer of the Day. His words were true, for it was almost immediate when I heard the Boatswain of the Watch “Man Overboard” “Man Overboard, port side!” This 81 thousand ton warship, the length of three football fields began to turn with shipmates working as a team to save a life. Mr. Speaker, you are third in line to the presidency. As Commander in Chief, the words you use can make or break the cohesiveness of a nation. “Loose lips sink ships,” meaning — “beware of unguarded talk.” When will real leaders yell “Man overboard” to our president to bring our country together?
N. C. Martin was my shipmate from the state of Ohio. I watched him hit the water belly first. He did not survive. Although his death was an accident, I learned something about human nature. I was 18 years old. For the record Mr. Speaker, I am now 73 and my account of life in my book “Guidance Against the Odds” is surely not fake news. Let’s not trivialize Charlottesville, Virginia to a “both sides” scenario and the death of Heather Heyer who stood up for what she believed. Call it for what it is — “Man Overboard.”
Without violence while educating ourselves on how we got to this point… in the first place. Then and only then will we be able to communicate on a higher level, as with “The Real Baltimore Communities,” https://therealnews.com/bmore0620safebudget/ Conservatism has begun to triumph, paralleling the Civil Rights movement with potential violence never seen before. The “marketers of discontent” started with (College Republicans) in the seventies with two innovations. The first was the adversarial (hate) fantasy, and the second was the discovery of the enormous profit that could be made with political entrepreneurs… the “Lobbyist.” Peddling right-wing grievances to the like-minded while the left wing (Liberals) were sleeping. Conservatism in general with (The President) has not openly disowned/condemned the Nazi Party, KKK or the White Nationalists, just the violence on both sides, as stated by the president. A settle green light or demented moral authority for them to openly display hate. Real Republicans must stand up, or the assumption of a racist party will continue. A complete insight and good read would be “The Wrecking Crew” by Thomas Frank. We are on the steps of a nuclear holocaust, and as a nation, we can’t see the Forrest for the Trees. “If there is no enemy within the enemy outside cannot hurt you.” Meaning: We are our own worst enemy.
Although commonly said a picture is worth a thousand words, the following a one- year time line written in five hundred and thirty-one words paints a vivid picture of Baltimore. Baltimore, a city, proudly known for its American’s firsts. First Roman Catholic cathedral (1821). First railroad (1827). First shot tower (1828). First dental college (1840). First Ouija board (1892). First rubber gloves used in surgery (1894). Even the first permanent building topped with a revolving restaurant (Holiday Inn, 1964). BUT! There’s another first that one hears much less about. Baltimore was the first U.S. city to pass a residential segregation ordinance (1911) referred to as “Baltimore Apartheid Style.” Despite the Fair Housing Act of 1968, discrimination is perpetuated even today through an interlocking set of individual actions, institutional practices, and governmental policies. (“American Apartheid” by Douglas S. Massey and Nancy Denton.) Segregation is both a consequence and a cause of black poverty. It does not take a rocket scientist to conclude that poverty can be a breeding ground for violent crime. The dynamics are repetitive throughout major cities all across America.
Time line August 22, 2016 – August 03, 2017
August 22, 2016, After a high-ranking official in the Baltimore police union with a history of making controversial statements — and getting disciplined for it, I entered the blog https://bookmystorysite.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/baltimore-my-baltimore/ Once again this official landed in hot water after referring to protesters of a Maryland Fraternal Order of Police conference in Baltimore August 14, 2016, as “thugs.” On his official department email account, he further stated: “On the bright side maybe they will stop killing each other while they are protesting us.” A generalized statement that one could conclude that he meant the demonstrators were all black and were all of the criminal persuasion. Of course, they were not, and if I called it a racist statement, there would come push back.
March 2017, seven Baltimore police officers were indicted for federal racketeering, crimes ranging from filing false overtime claims while recreating at casinos or committing crimes like robbing a driver during a traffic stop.
April 7, 2017, the City of Baltimore and the Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a Consent Decree. https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/925056/download which is a court enforceable agreement to resolve DOJ’s findings that it believed the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) had engaged in a pattern and practice of conduct that violates the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and certain provisions of federal statutory law.
April 8, 2017, I wrote a blog titled “Waving the Proverbial Red Flag,” https://bookmystorydomain.blog/2017/04/08/waving-the-proverbial-red-flag/ trying to start a civil conversation on a not so settle trend, a perfect storm. A prevailing atmosphere which began with the Residential Segregation Ordinances of 1911-1913.
April 17, 2017, CNN reports: Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday that consent decrees between the federal government and local police departments on reforming police activities could lower police morale. Here again, was an individual’s actions/opinion with governmental policies perpetuating hyper-segregation. Adding flint to an already bulging power keg.
August 03, 2017 CNN reports: Baltimore police body camera videos show “multiple officers working together to manufacture evidence,” according to the public defender’s office, the second such instance of alleged misconduct caught on tape in recent weeks.
Trust between the policing authority and the community is now the biggest issue the city of Baltimore faces. As Baltimore disintegrates due to violence, it is worth looking at how different the city is from its home state of Maryland. The differences are in many cases tremendous, and they point to the meager income, high unemployment, low home ownership and the high percentage of blacks and African Americans living in an apartheid mindsets compared to the state of Maryland. Going back to a fact and not a sociologist theory — poverty is the breeding grown for violent crime. A no win situation.
Judgmental outsiders must dig deep into their souls while asking themselves: Are all demonstrators against police brutality thugs? Are all policeman void of being corrupt and heartlessly brutal? Finally, what role does the White House play in its continued display of brashness?
One of the most important things for us to do as a nation is to prepare our children for their future, with the first decade of life being the quantifying period of their existence. Hopefully, this blog will catch and subdue some of the angry souls who will read, searching for a point to argue. This blog is non-fiction. It’s about personal feelings, observations, and the “Cause and Effect” of what we do and say to one another. Adults, at any given moment, are unsuspecting role models to our children, especially those in political power. This blog is made, in essence, as if I am speaking to the Choir. Therefore, it is not intended to explain the already known, advise, or convert anyone to a particular way of thinking. Its intent is for the altruistic and not the pugnacious personality to wit a continuous exchange of productive ideas would be impossible. We all have our paths to travel, and we all must make, and be responsible for, our own decisions. This blog, like all of my previous blogs, is a continuing effort to put my spiritual beliefs in writing, reaching out to the soul of America for those individuals who prefer to talk with other people for interpersonal growth, rather than about people on the downside.
Metaphorically speaking, many of the citizens of this great nation have boarded a despicable bus. A bus that is traveling on the road to nowhere fueled by brevity in 140 characters or less. Although I believe morality is intuitively present in most, if not all of us, it is inconspicuously seated at the rear of the bus.
Several years ago, at the beginning of the Christmas season, while visiting friends and relatives, I observed a child, (who shall remain nameless) compiling a Christmas list of expectations, or so I thought. I became nostalgic, caught up in the display of his enthusiasm. Being presumptuous of his age, I naturally assumed it was a letter to Santa. My melancholy ended when the adults began to converse, finding it amusing, as I soon realized the child was in competition with his siblings and friends. Behavior tantamount to gambling or counting chickens before they hatch. The boy was gathering names, making a list of expected gift-givers, and not the traditional wish list to Santa.
While I welcomed the child’s joy and wanted his happiness to carry through, it was hard to move past the feeling of submissiveness. I wanted to say something about the possible arrogant, conceited, and boastful seeds I felt were being planted, a progressive avenue toward a prerogative feeling of entitlement. Later, in the absence of the children, I was tempted to say something but refrained. I didn’t get the sense there could be a “Spiritual Partnership.” Anticipating pushback, I remained silent. Feeling, perhaps my words would create a platform for a verbal crucifixion. In other words, push back — Twitter style — in the flesh, with persecution for acting holier than thou. In no way do I feel I have a submissive personality, but there are situations where silence is golden. In essence, I went along – to get along. Etiquette and the principles of meaningful communication, for growth in the spirit, have become diluted through the empowerment of instant and brief communications. As a child, I learned so much from my grandfather, who had no formal education, only wisdom through the word. Many of his words ring so vividly now. “God warns man against quarreling.” Those are his exact words. Subversion is of no value except to the perpetrator and ruins those who listen, our children.
How many of us just go along to get along? Likewise, how many of us take the rear seat and watch others influence the mentality and direction of the bus driver and the faith of our children? How many of us see the trees, but ignore the embers to a potential Forrest Fire? The fate of our nation and our children is at issue, with fear and hate in the driver’s seat. This is not my last blog.
There is so much running through my head, feeling helpless as most Americans should feel in these trying times, as I am drowning in obscurity, struggling with the “Us versus Them” syndrome of public indulgence. Like the President, I take to Twitter to share my thoughts, taking care not to attack another human being by calling names as to their principles or beliefs. Recently, I commented on a tweet by @JudgeJeanine in her use of the word snowflake in her description of a significant portion of the American population. My growing concern is with her language, likening it to a fire-spewing dragon following an oil tanker. Therefore, when you want your followers to jell and believe in you to infinity, add a joke adjective to your commentary. Like a dog whistle, in politics, the adjective serves as an adhesive, the gum, the bonding agent of we versus them. It’s a rhetorical strategy, attacking a person’s character, motive, or some other attribute rather than discussing the substance of the argument itself. No doubt she would call me a snowflake if my beliefs conflicted with Her’s. Nothing is funny about the 22 years of my life in the military with an oath to defend Judge Pirro’s right to free speech. “Loose lips can sink ships.”
The seeds of dysfunction are planted, germinating, and becoming normalized. The human nature of defensiveness sets in, and partisanship becomes deadlocked. We are in a pickle. The only ones who can change these spontaneous discourses are “We the People,” not the headliners of demagoguery. If we, the people, actually believe in The Preamble to the Constitution, we don’t attend church to learn the art of degradation.
Henry Lee Faulkner, Chief Navy Counselor, US Navy Ret.
Like a dysfunctional family…. We are on “A Long Road to Nowhere………………..”
We are reactionary rather than preventative. ……. We are a society predicated on fear and hatred, with mistrust of thy neighbor, now a dominating factor in our daily lives. The decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire would be the perfect indicator of where the direction our country is heading. The causes and effects are glaringly many, with politics at the top of the list. The Roman Empire’s ruling body lost the strength to exercise effective control thru the weakening of the economy, the incompetence of the emperor, the religious changes of the period, the inefficiency of the local civil administration, and racism. Finally, there was an increasing threat from “barbarians” outside Rome. Sounds familiar? Notwithstanding all the same indicators, we fail to smell the smoke nor see the irony of Aesop’s fable “The Four Oxen and the Lion” and the idiom “United we Stand, divided we fall.”
I read a story a few years back about the fact that African Americans consume more fast food than any other race in America. Also,, in that same time frame, there was a Nielson report, indicating that African Americans watch more TV than any other group. Now, what does this have to do with the long road to nowhere? This a fair question, which leads to the idiom “opinions are like posteriors; everybody has one.” But through rationalization, to accomplish an objective, the replacement of traditions, values, and emotions are likened to the rising of the oceans, the erosion of our shorelines, and climax change. So, settle, we hardly even notice. This leads to polling/surveys. Surveys or claims of a survey can be taken on any subject, depending on how the question is worded to get the required results.
The early 1950’s, it was my adolescent years. Fast food was a foreign idea, and the TV was a reward for not causing my parents any problems. Sitting at the dinner table at 4 o’clock was an unwritten family tradition. There was only one television in the house, located in the living room or what was called the front room. I preferred laying on the floor right under this marvelous box, in order to rotate the knob between channels 2, 11, and 13. Only three channels, but still unknown to me, there was powerful subjective imagery with subliminal influences, with “Superman,” “Amos and Andy,” and movies about “Tarzan, King of the Apes among my favorites.
I felt happy as an adolescent, not being conscious of the fact that I was blessed but, at the same time, being mentally programmed. Blessed with parents who had searched for the American dream. A dream of a better life on a “Long Road to Nowhere. Their unadulterated courage, migrating from farm life to Baltimore, in the early 1930s, was a mental strength I can still now not imagine. It was a shot in the dark for them, none other than playing the lottery at a million-to-one odds with their life. A time in American history, when there was no Middle class. A nebulous concept, being either rich or poor. Jim Crow was hanging in the balance. A time when segregation was a distinct and dominatingly transparent way of life for a substantial number of America’s citizens. World War II was over. In 1944 the GI Bill provided returning veterans with money for college, businesses, and home mortgages, which gave way to the beginning of a class of Americans between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots. 1944 was the year of my birth.
In 2013, I was on the steps of turning 70. All-in, after chasing and capturing that proverbial American dream. A home and higher education meant that I had arrived … or did it? 2013 was a dubious year. I found myself reflecting, concentrating excessively on that “Long Road to Nowhere,” which my parents had taken. Now a grandparent myself and watching my grandchildren grow into puberty, poverty is a fear in my subconscious. It’s daunting. Not because they aren’t happy, healthy, and well taken care of, but because of the virtual existence of a colony. “A Colony In A Nation” by Chris Hayes in the most powerful nation on earth. A colony where one’s life could be changed or snuffed out in an instant. A colony, waiting in the balance for my grandchildren and millions of unsuspecting children, just because they are not white.
In 2013, “A Colony in A Nation” had not been written, but my reflecting was the catalyst in the writing of my book, “Guidance Against the Odds.” The overt controlling elements of the pre-60s era have long passed, but there persists in me a feeling of repression. A subliminal hindrance transcended through osmosis programming. For years, I had put faith in the “American Dream, shielding myself constantly from what the naysayers of society implied as to what African Americans suffer from society. 2016 has resurrected the surface tensions of the 60s, at a time when divide and conquer politics are exacerbating racial strife and economic inequality. There is a need for a profound awakening of justice-loving people united in a coalition, powerful enough to reclaim the possibility of democracy. “The Third Reconstruction” by the Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, a modern-day civil rights champion. Outlines in his book how he helped to start a movement to bridge America’s racial divide, which has come to be known as Moral Mondays.
Two Quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”
The Abstract:
To some, it’s theoretical; to others, it’s conceptual, but to many, the long road to nowhere is anchored in the abstract or the metaphysical. The natural nature of the human mind.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has criticized an agreement between the city of Baltimore and the Justice Department to overhaul the city’s police department. A Consent Decree that could perhaps set the stage for change, possibly reversing the Causes and Effects of Apartheid Baltimore Style: the Residential Segregation Ordinances of 1910-1913, the first of its kind in the United States.
There are many among us who delude themselves into believing that we live in a post-racial society. With each passing day, it becomes profusely transparent that this is a farce. Negative attitudes towards minorities have exacerbated substantially, with many thanks due to those who misuse religious principles to gain political power. Also, there are those who infuse fear through the megaphone of the media backed by big money. i.e.
Joe Walsh verified account @WalshFreedom
At 1:02 pm on 26 Oct 2016 he posted:
“On November 8th, I’m voting for Trump. On November 9th, if Trump loses, I’m grabbing my musket. You in?”
With over 3,000 retweets, almost 6,000 likes, and over 8,000 replies; what is this but a dog whistle? At the same time, my web page http://www.bookmystory.net/Baltimore-My-Baltimore.html may never see the light of day.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he has “grave concerns that some provisions of this decree will reduce the lawful powers of the police department and result in a less safe city,” Is it a crystal ball or political ploy? Surely it is not from the experience of restrictive economics and impoverished living.
The expectations of the book “Guidance Against the Odds” and the webpage http://www.bookmystory.net/About-Us.html, is entirely motivational. With the core focus on inspiring young minds to read, to study history and to reach out to other youths across the nation, while learning the art of communicating by listening with empathy rather than immediate discord. With a world measured by speed, data delight, sound bites of negativity, and while politicians with social discourse increasingly becoming common core, there is a need for stability of reasoning. In short, first and foremost, a provocation for those who know and understand the cause and effect from the demagoguery of the pass and a brainwave for the millions who are turned off by the bully mindset that prevails in America today. “The Audacity of the Millennia’s,” a rhetorical statement, meant as a stimulus, to and for a generation (for the most part) who within a decade or so will be moving into the eldership of the most powerful nation on earth. A mental make-up of divisiveness, a non-demonstrative direction of leadership growing deeper in a country which purposively stands for “Liberty and Justice for All,” must be changed, before divisiveness takes us to the point of no return. The adjective “United” and the noun “States” contrasts’ to the infinity with the present leadership of these United States.
bookmystorysite 