Editor’s notes

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

We live in unsettling times. Do you think that things are getting worse? It seems evil is running more rampant than before. What do we do as things steadily get worse in the world around us. I was reading this morning about the misconduct and disciplinary actions taken for several police officers. Mostly sexual misconduct. The POST is going to put more emphasis on ethics training for officers.
We expect police officers to be law abiding citizens. How can they uphold the law among the populace, if they themselves are lawless. On the other hand, these police officers are just human and they are just performing a job like anyone else, but not like anyone else. Most of us don’t put our lives on the line each day as we go to work like they do. We expect them to be better, and when they aren’t, when they are just human, we are disappointed in some way.
I’ve been terribly distressed about the deaths of young people, young people taking their own lives. What leads them to this desperate act? This world is so depressing. You really have to search to find the good. You never hear much about the good. One friend of mine in our local sheriff’s office told us in a class we took that using a gun is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Our youth have temporary problems, that shouldn’t be solved with permanent solutions. How do we get kids the help they need? Why have we allowed this world to get so bad that our children feel it closing in around them? What is our hope for the future?
We have a man who writes in to our paper a lot about the evil of abortion. I agree with him totally. Abortion should not exist in a society that has any feelings and convictions about the sanctity of life. Why isn’t life sacred any more? Why are unborn children killed every day in this country? If we can’t take care of the unborn how can we take care of the masses of children and teenagers that need help in this country. Why do we need so much help? Where have we failed our children? I think we have failed our children by allowing video games that show people shooting other people. We have failed our children with the masses of movies about killing and maiming and those that show graphic images. You can only take in so much before it begins to spill back out again in negative and hurtful behaviors.
Hollywood needs to be sent a message that we don’t need crap like that. Our kids don’t need to see it. We don’t need to see it. We have to take responsibility for what we allow our teenagers to view and listen to. Over the weekend the Horton Hears a Who movie ranked number one at the box office. This is a cartoon. People are hungry for good entertainment. This movie is made from one of Dr. Seuss’ books. Why can’t there be entertainment without the F word and tons of swearing, nudity and garbage? A lot of the movies are really good shows which tell good stories, and they would be just fine without the junk. A good movie can stand on its own. The Bucket List showed two old codgers who were diagnosed with cancer and how they took a tour around the world doing some of the things they wanted to do before they kicked the bucket. The rich man was really the poorer of the two as the poor man had a family and people who cared about him. He wasn’t rich by the world’s standards, but he was rich in spirit, rich in the things that really matter in this life, a family that we love and that loves us. Do we spend way too much time focused on things that don’t matter and too little time focused on what really matters?
How much time do we spend in prayer, thanksgiving and reflection? We have been given much, we here in this valley. We have a lovely place to live, plenty of sunshine, nice houses, nice cars, nice families, but still we have many problems. There is too much child abuse, alcohol and drug addiction, too much disregard for each other and the rights and feelings of others.
How can young people grow up in a society that places no value on human life and dignity? The television is so filled with lurid images. How can young men grow up with a proper perspective of women and sexuality if all they see are scantily clad women? Where are the women who respect their bodies and treat them properly?
I have been accused of being a prude on more than one occasion and I am really old fashioned. But, for some reason I think that’s what we need. We need to be a little more old fashioned when it comes to traditional values and morality and the sanctity of human life. We need to value our children. We need to value other people’s children as our own. We need to take action when there is wrongdoing. We need to stick up for what is right. Don’t let people call wrong right. There is black and white when it comes to what is right and wrong. We can’t be afraid to speak out.
It reminds me of the story of the Emperor’s new clothes and how everyone was afraid to tell him he actually didn’t have any clothes on at all. We can’t be afraid to let people know what we think. We are the silent majority and we have stood silently by while they try to take our guns away. We have stood silently by while they have taken our God out of our schools. We have stood silently by while they took Christ out of Christmas. We have stood silently by while millions of unborn children have died, we have stood silently by while they have invaded our homes, computers, movie theatres and magazines with their filth. We have stood silently by while innocent children are abused and neglected because we didn’t want to get involved. We have passed the homeless on the street without a look or a bit of change. When will we step up and be the kind of people that this country needs?
Going back to what I said in the beginning of this article. I feel the unsettled times we are in. Where do we look for peace? I used to have a picture of a boat on my refrigerator with a saying on it which read something like we can’t take on too much water or our boat will sink. It’s time to start bailing water, our boat is sinking.