Get real

  I first heard it called shell shocked. It happened to some men in battle. I heard stories about the problems these people had following their experiences in battle. Battle fatigue. Then, somewhere along the way I heard it being called PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. A treatable mental condition and one certainly understandable. Having never served in actual battle myself I can only imagine the stress that would cause. In my twenty years of military experience, I engaged in exercises that were stressful, but no one was trying to kill me! That being said I give my full support to those individuals that may require help. 

 Now I'm hearing this term, PTSD, applied to just about every negative experience a person can have. No doubt people suffer from stress caused by many different things but calling it PTSD doesn't always seem right to me. I heard that term applied to a person that didn't want to return to their workplace because they were suffering from PTSD as a result of covid. They are afraid! The experts were then insisting that the person should be allowed to continue to work from home without penalty of any kind. A new precedent being established. 

 My concern with this is that we are raising a generation of emotional cripples. Yes, I understand people suffer from stressful situations. Yes, I understand that people have different thresholds for that stuff, some folks are what we used to call, nervous. That nervousness shouldn't be used as a crutch. It's my feeling that is exactly what we are doing. Instead of simply telling those folks to "buck up" we are empowering them. Empowering them, a term I can't stand. To empower is to give others permission. I don't need your permission to do anything! It is my choice! But by empowering those folks to remain emotionally weak, not placing any pressure on them to overcome their fears, all you're doing is creating a lifetime of issues for that person. Patton was criticized, indeed vilified and reprimanded when he slapped that soldier. He was trying to help! It was an attempt to bring that man back to reality. And reality can be traumatic, you had best learn to deal with it. There was no time for therapy sessions or yoga classes. 

 I get it I'm from the old school. I do believe in just bucking up. I don't believe in running to the doctor for every scratch and bruise or seeking therapy when I'm upset about things. I believe in simply absorbing the blows and moving on. I'm not looking for sympathy and understanding. Yes, I say, get over it! That's what I said to my kids. They did. They didn't always like it though. Doesn't matter. I was developing what is often called intestinal fortitude. A lot of that is lacking in people today. Especially true if you're a Democrat. Just go with the flow, don't make a firm stand on anything, give others whatever they demand, it's too stressful to do the right thing! It's so much easier to say, I can't. 

 We are now teaching conditional morality! It all demands. How much do you want something? If you really want that, it's okay no matter what. That's the condition of morality, your own desire. Wasn't that way when I was growing up. We were expected to do the right thing, every time! Right was right and wrong was wrong, all the time. That line is surely blurred today. That's the reason things are so messed up today! Without a clear line, clear guidance and rules the game is chaotic. Life doesn't have to be complicated. Do your duty, do what's right, and accept reality for what it is. 

 It seems we are having a big issue with that last thing, accepting reality. That's what all this "identifying" is all about. Trying to figure out what you are? It's not hard at all if you simply accept what it is. You were "assigned" a gender when you were conceived. You don't have to wait to be born, you don't have to wait until you are "of age" you don't have to wait to "find out. Nope, you are what you are. The signs are quite easily identified. Now I'm hearing about children identifying as animals and adults are supporting that! They are a few other realities many need to learn. My money is my money, and I am under no obligation to give you any of it! It doesn't matter how much I have or how little you have, that reality doesn't change. You are not the most important person in the world! You are not the best looking, the smartest or the most popular. Because your distant ancestors came from a different nation that doesn't make you from a different nation. I am no more  German than a German is an American! Yes, my third great grandfather came to America in 1856, he was German. I'm not. That's reality. 

 And a final thought. Unless we as a nation get our act together, straighten up and fly right, we are going to crash! That is reality. It isn't so much who is the President, it is the decision of the people that matters. Too many are living in some fantasy world, a good dose of reality should cure that. I had hoped the mid-terms was going to be enough but apparently not. It's going to get real folks, you had best be ready. They say only the strong survive and there is truth in that, but it is mental toughness that will ultimately win the day. Sitting in the corner crying ain't gonna get it done. Accepting reality is key.