Monday, October 9, 2017

spilled milk

 One of the things I heard often growing up was, no need in crying over spilled milk. It was a simple lesson. I admit it took a while to grasp the meaning of it, and I still occasionally cry when that milk get spilled, but it was sound advice. I have learned to accept the consequences of an action and move on from it. That was the central lesson there. You can't change the past, only learn from it. It seems to me we spend a great deal of time and energy these days trying to rewrite the past. The same things  happen, we just find someone different to blame for them. For some folks this seems to make it better. Personally I don't understand that at all. I mentioned it yesterday, the whole Columbus deal. Now we are all offended by his actions and claim the day as indigenous peoples day. Funny part about that is Columbus never interacted with any Native American tribes in North America. Minnesota is one state that has changed the day. Columbus was never in Minnesota. But whatever, Now Mexico and Central America they have a legit beef with the guy. I don't think they ever named a holiday after him though. America did because it was politically expedient to do so. Now the politics have changed, so. Well that's how that works anyway.
 The saying " don't cry over spilled milk " was not intended to trivialize anything. It simply means you can't change the past. Oh, there are plenty of folks that will say I lack empathy, I should hold a memorial for that spilled milk. The milk was lost and never got to fulfill its mission, to nourish and sustain life. Why that is the very reason God created milk ! Maybe I should wear a ribbon. Ever drop of milk matters. Silly isn't it ? And that is the way I feel about a lot of the stuff going on today. We shouldn't be holding vigils, ceremonies and marches over every thing that happens. We need to move on. But now we have to make a big show of it all or we don't care. While we tear down statues we are building memorials. How long will it take before those memorials become offensive ? Let a certain group of people get political influence in this country and it'll happen a lot sooner than you think. Just what are we memorializing ? The sentiments of today will certainly change over time. The pendulum swings both ways.
 There was a time in America when we erected statues to serve as inspiration. Results were celebrated. Those guys were heroes ! Now we examine their past and vilify them, tear down those statues, and teach our children how bad those people were. We are even holding protests over folks that died 150 years ago and more ! Crying over spilled milk ! Yes, but we are telling the truth of it all aren't we ? That's the present story anyway. Stories change over time as well, just ask your brother or sister about stuff from your childhood, you'll see. So now we erect memorials. What do these memorials celebrate ? Mostly lives lost. We are remembering the sacrifices of those that lost their lives. A noble sentiment but not very inspiring. The reality is it is just sad. A monument to spilled milk.
 I'm not saying we shouldn't erect memorials. Man has always erected memorials to those that we loved and admired. What I am saying is we shouldn't erect memorials to grief. Our memorials in the past celebrated the lives of those folks, not the fact they were killed or died. Those memorials served as inspiration. Just what are we trying to inspire today ? It's just that I was taught, clean up the mess, don't do that again, and move on. I just wonder where inspiration for our children is supposed to come from ? Football players ? Social injustice warriors ? Just seems to me it is nothing more than a whole lot of crying over spilled milk. 

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