lessons lost

 Facebook often has meme's and posting asking about the day's gone by. I enjoy those posts as they do remind me of the past. A part of that speaks to my vanity as well, I know this or that. If you are honest with yourself you have to agree with me, we all like to show that we "know" whatever or that we know something that others do not. It's a superiority thing. Makes you feel good. Yesterday I asked if anyone has a darning egg. I'm writing this as I wait to see if I get any response. That question inspired these thoughts about all of that.

 With the darning egg I remembered a time when my dad darned a hole in my pants. I was getting ready to go to church and had put on my good clothes. I came downstairs and dad noticed that hole. Mom was sick at the time, recovering from an operation I found out years later concerned female stuff and no way was I told anything about that! But anyway, Dad told me to take those pants off and he would darn them. I wasn't very old at the time, maybe ten or twelve, but this was something different and unique. Dad was going to do sewing? Well, he did, and I can see that patched area to this day. It was amazing. I asked him years later about how he had come to know how to do that. He just looked at me and said, I figured everyone knew how to do that. He explained that when he was growing up his grandmother kept a basket full of socks and other items that needed darning by her chair. She darned stuff all the time and he had watched her often enough. That made sense to me and nothing more was ever said about that.

 This led me to think about life back in the day. I was thinking that children learned a great deal more from their parents in the past. What I mean is there was little else to do. If you think about it that seems reasonable enough. No video games, no snap-chat, no organized sports and after school activities. I think children tended to learn whatever occupation their parents were engaged in. Children were more engaged in everyday life around the home. Cooking, cleaning, tending to the fire or the animals. Everything it took to keep the household running. Practical skills needed in that particular time and era. 

 I'm thinking that isn't the case today, although I'm certain there are exceptions to the rule, there are always exceptions. Today the exceptions are used as proof. That's why 3% of the population is now dictating policies but that is another topic altogether. I'm thinking that the children are being too distracted these days to really pay attention to what their parents are doing. The result is we are developing a rather clueless society. The reason we are now hearing stuff like "identifying" as whatever, makes you whatever. What was called make believe back in the day. Again, a different topic altogether but I can't help mentioning that. Today it appears the children are learning more from tic-tok and the indoctrination at school than from their parents, or possibly more important, grandparents. I can say I learned a lot of skills from my grandparents as they always had more patience than mom and dad. I also tended to listen to them a bit closer for some reason. I guess it was their age, being that old I just naturally figured they knew a lot of stuff. I heard them correct my parents more than once. 

 I can only speak from my personal experiences, but my parents and grandparents seemed a lot more self-assured than what I'm seeing today. I know that I get called judgmental often enough. Yes, I suppose I am. I learned to exercise good judgement from my parents and grandparents as a matter of fact. Oh, I was told that bible verse about judge not lest ye be judged, heard it all the time. Thing is I was also taught what that meant. It didn't mean just allow everyone to do whatever they liked. No, it was a responsibility on your part to point out the errors. Good friends and good people do that for each other. It was up to them to change their ways or pay the consequences. And yes, the bible is an excellent reference for what is right and wrong. I was also taught just because you can, doesn't mean you should! That was the lesson in discernment. In the Bible judgment is indeed the providence of God but discernment is the responsibility of the people. And just because the bible doesn't say you shouldn't, it also doesn't mean you should. An argument I hear being used a lot today. 

 It all speaks to self reliance. I was often told that God helps those who help themselves. I was told God wasn't going to do it for you, you could ask for his guidance, his help with whatever issue you were having, but you first had to help yourself. God would use his judgement with that! Charity is a gift! You should never expect a gift, not even on your birthday or Christmas. Charity is not an entitlement. Not from your family, your neighbors, your community, your county, state or country! Do not expect charity. You had better be taking care of yourself, because it is no else's job to do that. I don't think that lesson is being taught today. 

 What is being taught? What I'm entitled to. That is the lesson plan these days. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has certainly been redefined in the 21st century. The right to life is now being questioned in the courts. Does the mother have a right to decide that? The father has no say when it comes to that. Criminals, convicted murders are not to be executed because they have a right to life? Yes, I 'd say the right to life has certainly been redefined from what the founding fathers had in mind. Liberty? What is liberty. James Madison said it was liberty of conscience. He was saying liberty is the ability to act upon your own conscience. In other words, the law shouldn't tell you how to act, only what actions are not allowed. Your conscience should be your guide. Of course, it is important to remember that John Adams, his associate, friend and confidant, explained that our constitution was only sufficient for a moral and religious people and was totally inadequate to any other. That was the expectation of Madison and Adams. I suspect many others felt the same way. 

 What about the pursuit of happiness. What does that mean. In means, making a living, providing for your family, and living in harmony within the community. That will provide happiness. The pursuit is in doing what is necessary to secure that. It doesn't include asking for charity or indeed, demanding charity. It doesn't mean that those that have achieved a higher degree of happiness than yourself have to share that happiness with you. No, you have to earn that yourself. Just like Grandma said, God helps those that help themself. That doesn't include helping yourself to what someone else has earned! And that, in my opinion, is where the biggest change has occurred. 

  I learned from my parents and grandparents that true happiness comes from within. It comes with that sense of accomplishment only gained by doing something yourself. Remember when Obama said, "if you got a business, you didn't build that." Much was said about that by both sides of the political aisle. Still, what was the underlining message? You need the help of others to be successful, to find happiness. Others should invest in your happiness. Yes, I would agree that our conscience should impel us to help our neighbors, but that doesn't mean the government should take what you have earned to redistribute it to others either. That's what Madison was talking about. There is no pursuit when you are simply given something. You do learn to appreciate the things you have when you are the one that earned them. It isn't the ability to buy them, or to acquire them through charity, that creates that value. It is the pursuit that is important. Like going fishing, it takes patience, persistence, and a degree of luck. You don't have to catch anything every time but when you do, it's happiness. 

 Well, this is a long-winded post about a simple thing. Sometimes I just get carried away. I'm just concerned about what is being taught and by whom. Family, in my opinion, is the nucleus of society. I see that exploding, breaking apart these days. What is left? Government? That is a scary thought. When we become dependent upon government all is lost. Conscience is the glue that holds us together. It is being dismissed, replaced by some progressive ideology of entitlement. The truth is the world owes you nothing. You owe the world. Seems like that is a lesson lost on many, and not the only one!