I have been away from Ted’s Head. Not intentionally, but but the result of a whole bunch of things happening lately. We had most of our kids and grandkids over a period of two and a half weeks. Not only fun but stimulating. We get kind of set in our ways in Flalaland. Everyone grows and changes from the last visit in so many ways. OMG, you mean they look at things differently than yours truly and the divine Mrs K? 

I had a birthday and that is always a time for reflection. All those years, places and people give one pause. For the first time ever I mused as to how many more I will have. Not maudlin but pragmatic. You hope to leave a legacy of some sort. A belief system or ethic if you will, that will be emblematic of what you stand for. Perhaps your brood will take at least a few pieces of your morality  but you never know. 

A question always arises when their and your ideas differ greatly. It could be liberal or conservative. Religious or atheistic. No sex or free sex. There is a lot to consider. What do you stand by and what do you adapt to? Does standing up for what you truly believe in make you a cantankerous old fart? Come on TTG, keep up with the times. 

Going beyond family I look at our world. Man, there are a bunch of things out there I am odds with. Yet no matter how vehemently I oppose I also have to realize that people have a different point of view. Of course that is our problem today. What is the true tenor of our convictions as a country or civilization? Can we coexist? Good question.

Let’s start withe something easy. GUNS. Ha! I think everyone has a right to own a gun. Even several guns if you are a hunter etc. But assault rifles? There are 30 million assault rifles in existence today. Why? Please give me a reason you should own one? My NRA buddies give me the line that if we give in on a ban then what will they take next? Can you even fathom the fact that even if you have the right to own one, why don’t I have the right to live in peace? There are 300 million plus guns in circulation. To me that is 300 million chances my or my kids and grandkids asses will be blown away. 

Gays and transexuals are another point. A few years ago while traveling cross-country Kathy and were listening to a segment on NPR. The topic was the whole idea of gender. The participants thought we would do away with sexual distinctions. You could be whatever you wanted both socially and physically. What? That could never happen. 

Before you read on, I am not an anti. I believe some people are homosexual. Is transgender the logical extension? I have no idea. But to take a kid anywhere from five to eighteen and earmark them one way or another is wrong. Young minds are formative. Young people are hit from all sides with sexual messages. Hormones rage. This is a not a time for lifelong decisions. At ten you don’t decide you are going to be a doctor or teacher and be cast in that light forever. 

We know several parents with gay children. We know a few whose kids are transgender. That was the result of a lot of thought and dare I say prayers. In a crazy way they adapted over time to what they thought once was unthinkable. That seems pretty rational to me. 

Since I am on a roll let’s talk minorities. Hispanics and blacks especially do not have it easy. I want to help them in any way. At the same time I am not color blind but I am not racist either. We are all different in a bunch of ways but as I told my grandson we all bleed red. I care for my fellow man but that does mean I am going to self flagellate for what happened centuries ago? 

There are class distinctions unless we want communism. Yes people are oppressed and we should stop it. Yes minorities get crappy medicine and less than adequate education. People are going hungry everyday in these United States. It is part and parcel of society. Should we do everything possible to ameliorate it? You bet. But you can’t legislate success and we can’t give you a pill to make it all better. 

There is a thing called victimhood. The world and all its industry is out to get you. You didn’t fail. Society failed you. It feels so good to feel revenge. I could have been great. I should have been discovered. Life is unfair. This is the bitch. There are people who have been wronged as an individual. They should be helped in many ways but that doesn’t mean everyone else can ride their coattails. 

We think in such broad and general strokes. All blacks are bad. All whites suck. We go to help and we are considered condescending. We don’t open the kimono all the way and we are considered stingy. On the other hand we think  it’s every man or woman for the themselves. I came up the hard way, so should you. Our world has become so much more complex. There are challenges at every turn. It is not my or my father’s Oldsmobile.

We have to adapt plain and simple. Bend but don’t break. That is both sides. The radical left and right are pushing us into this interminable strife and hateful abyss. I for one am tired of it. Whether it is daily shootings or the idiots you and I have elected, I really want to give up on the news.

This debt limit BS has been going on for months. Let’s have another investigation or hearing. Those clowns are too busy doing nothing. Aaaargh!

Okay I feel better now!

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

40 million American men, women and children are nutritionally at risk. Every county in the US faces this problem. Yet 35% of all food produced goes uneaten. 

Adolescence can be a time of both disorientation and discovery. The transitional period can raise questions of independence and identity; as adolescents cultivate their sense of self, they may face difficult choices about academics, friendship, sexuality, gender identity, drugs, and alcohol.  Not a place to make lifelong decisions.

Attitude is defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) as “a relatively enduring and general evaluation of an object, person, group, issue, or concept on a dimension.” It comes from your beliefs, emotions, and past experiences and behaviors.

We adapt as the result of new information that we deem to be valid. We look at people and things differently if we explore and venture into the unknown. Sometimes better. Sometimes worse. 

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change,” Charles Darwin