Why not take a stand? I guess I’m trying to understand but it’s not easy. It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you are on, whether we agree or whether we don’t doesn’t really matter to me.
I guess I just want to understand why it seems that no matter how hateful, how discriminating, how hurtful, how alienating our world has become, many people accept this state of mind. And refuse to say enough is enough.
I think we all agree that government is much too large, our politicians whether local, state or federal, are compromised by their own desire to protect their own livelihood above anything else.
Immigration is a problem and to enter this country it should be done legally. Retirees are being priced out of their homes. The average worker barely can make ends meet. If you have college debt, go to work and pay it off. Our rights are being compromised by our elected officials, who deem their job is to tell us what we want instead of legislating what we really want.
I have tried to distance myself from the world in many ways. I try to spend as much time outside as I can. I exercise to shed the demons that try to enter, but it’s hard to ignore.
I have friends on the opposite side of the spectrum, good friends who I want to keep as friends. We differ in viewpoints, differ in ideology, but I know deep down the goodness we share.
I remember a time when I was camping with my horses in southern Utah and my truck brakes went. I had just dropped my trailer and horses at a campsite at 10,000 feet elevation. Then headed down the mountain to a nearby lodge to put air in my front tire.
On the way a warning light said my brake fluid was low so I pulled over at the lodge and bought the one can they had. They said there is a convenience store another mile that should have some more. I coasted down the road and by the time I got there I had zero brakes.
Fortunately I was able to coast to the back of the parking lot and finally was able to stop, dragging my foot came to mind. Returning to the campsite took me three more bottles of fluid and since the site was uphill I was able to control the truck with the gas pedal.
There I was, miles from home with two horses, a dog, a living quarters trailer, and a broken down Ford truck.
A camper I had befriended realized I had a problem and stopped over to tell me he and his dad had a towing business in a nearby town and he could pick up my truck and take it to a Ford dealer.
Then a friend of a friend I was riding with said that his buddy in a town not so close by was willing to bring his dually up and take my camper to his home. When we got to his home, he said he could care for my horses in his corral, and he’d would loan me a truck to go home with.
You see what I mean by goodness even though we differ in many ways.
I remember a long time ago back where I grew up. We were in a place called the Red Barn, a burger joint. It was one evening where we hung out to get a burger. A guy we called Wheaty belittled and bullied a young man who was less fortunate.
I admit Wheaty was muscular and intimidating. I stood there and watched. I didn’t do a darn thing to intervene. I didn’t laugh, it wasn’t funny but I let it happen. Why? Was I scared or did I just not want to get involved. I was young but I was big enough to stop it. This was 50 years ago but I remember as if it were yesterday.
Bigotry or bulling whether, at the school yard or at the Red Barn or at the White House, is not acceptable. I watched once many years ago. I did not intervene. I did not stop it. However, I will never forget it as long as I live.
That is a long time to pay for something when you simply do not take a stand, even though it is a mere few seconds of time. Yes, you may face consequences when you stand up for what is right, but those are consequences that you can live with. Here’s to all my present and future friends and to the goodness that we share.
Gary Goog Beroset
Oakley